Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Megatron's 1st P.O.V.

It had only been fifteen solars, and I felt anxious without her here. Even with all of the projects that the residents of Pyrovar were currently undertaking, I wasn't busy enough to keep thoughts of her out of my processor.

Of course, that was helped by the delegation of duties we had immediately gone into. While I was, of course, the leader of the Decepticons, and Starscream still acted as my second in command and Air Commander, some jobs had needed a bot to helm them. Going through each job and finding the best bot for each of those positions hadn't been easy, especially given that we were all still recovering from the war.

Chief Medical Officer was landed on Hook, much to his annoyance. It had been between him and Knockout, and while Knockout had done a good job during the campaign on Earth, Hook was less likely to venture out for a race. Knockout acted as his second, but this would give Knockout a little more freedom to compete in his races.

I had placed Breakdown in the position of Chief Architecture Officer. Given his construction capabilities on Cybertron before the war and how well he handled the job when the others first arrived here on Pyrovar, the position was his. Thundercracker worked well with the mech during the construction of our residence here on Pyrovar, so I made him Breakdown's second in command. So far, the two have worked well together.

Soundwave, of course, was still Chief Communications and Security Officer and my third in command. With how he had improved his observational skills and hacking skills during the war, and most notably on Earth, where he had been given the first real challenge he had in a while, he had taken to the position well. Vox had proven himself well during the campaign on Earth and acted as Soundwave's second. The two worked well together.

While both Swindle and Lockdown were in the running for Chief Trade Officers, dealing with planetary markets and intergalactic trade, Swindle won out as Chief due to his social connections that spread much further than Lockdown's. Of course, Lockdown still acted as his second, and the two were building connections to trade our new energon-infused foods.

Speaking of those foods, their creation necessitated a Chief Agricultural Officer, which had taken a little longer than I thought it would. Given their knowledge of Earth, I would have made one of the drones the officer. But the ones who knew about agriculture were left on Earth to live their lives.

Thankfully, Arctic Talon, given both hers and Predaking's time on Earth before our arrival, had a familiarity with agriculture that most of us did not have; they were next in line. So, I had given her the title, and when Predaking was not helping in the med bays, he was her second. They worked with the energon and organic foods that had also started growing.

For now, the last position we had decided on was that of Chief Training Officer. We did not want our Decepticons to wane in strength even though we were in a peaceful time. We had not been able to achieve true peace. At first, we had debated just having an army. However, it was decided that it would be best if all of our citizens were capable of fighting at a given notice. Not many would attack a planet, no matter how new it was, if they knew that thousands were able to fight against them. Dreadwing had taken the mantle of our Chief Training Officer, and Skyquake was his second. I knew that they would do a good job of making sure all of our troops were in top shape.

However, there were still a few positions that we had yet to fill, and while the Decepticons who were a part of the Earth campaign were trustworthy, none of them seemed to fit the positions that I wanted to be filled. Those positions were Chief Immigration Officer and Chief Events Officer. The first was self-explanatory, overseeing all incoming residents to and from the planet. For the second, they would oversee major events that we may hold in the future, such as hosting foreign dignitaries and planetary celebrations.

Of course, a third position was available, and I approached Shockwave to see if he would take the position of my Chief Strategic Officer. However, he argued that his research into the Predacon reconstruction and other projects would keep him fairly busy. Perhaps I would have a Chief Scientific Officer as well. I would see if he wanted such a position later. I would need a bot to cover that; he would fit perfectly.

Since he had turned down the Chief Strategic Officer position, I had offered it to Strika instead. She seemed hesitant before refusing it as well. While she would be more than willing to assist whoever accepted the position, she wanted to spend this peacetime with her bondmate. I understood that, given the anxiety that I felt waiting for my own intended to arrive back home.

Since those two had refused the position, I planned to offer it to Pandimala upon her return. I hoped she would accept, though I didn't see her refusing me. I don't think she could even if she wanted to, not with how strong her loyalty was to me. She wouldn't hesitate to accept.

Thinking on other questions I had for the femme upon her return to me, I hoped that would be true for those as well.

"You're fidgeting, Lord Megatron."

I growled when Starscream's vocals came from behind me. "Is there a particular reason you are disturbing me right now?"

The smug air he was exuding could be felt as he walked up next to me. "I was just coming in to inform you of another arrival."

"We have had other arrivals that you do not feel the need to report to me. Why this one?"

"Not only does it include Mixmaster, Long Haul, and Bonecrusher, but Scorponok came with them," I turned to Starscream in surprise at the last name. While we knew that Hook's remaining brothers would arrive soon, I did not realize that Scorponok was still online. Last I had heard, the mech I had first met in the Pits of Kaon had vanished not long after a scuffle near the planet Maderan. When none of the searches yielded any results, the triple changer was declared missing. To hear that he was now among us again was a surprise that I was more than ready to hear.

"So, he has survived. I am anxious to hear about what the mech has gone through during his travels." I agreed as I started to make my way out of the control room and toward the doors to lead outside.

"My Lord, you never did answer me about why you were fidgeting?" Starscream brought up again as we walked.

A vent escaped me before I could stop it. "There are certain arrivals I am waiting for, and no, I will not disclose them at this time. For safety, this information is being compartmentalized." Yes, and that was between myself and Michael. No one else knew that Pandimala was even online. It was times like this, though, that made keeping that information difficult.

My second allowed a look of annoyance to cross his faceplate at that. "Understandable, Lord Megatron. Off of that subject, then, do you have any plans for the missing officer positions we need to fill?"

With Scorponok's arrival, I at least had one: "Yes, and I believe we need to make a Chief Scientific Officer to oversee our research advancements. I plan on asking Shockwave to take that position."

"Yes, he shouldn't refuse that one if I know him, My Lord," Starscream agreed. "But, what of the others that we had discussed?"

"As long as Scorponok is as loyal and trustworthy as he once was, then I will ask him to fill the role of Chief Immigration Officer. He will have the strength needed to deal with those who come to harm us, and yet he will be understanding enough of those who wish to live here to sort them out as well. But, we shall see how that goes," I indulged my second's curiosity. "One of the arrivals I am waiting for will hopefully take our Chief Strategical Officer position. Another reason I am keeping their name compartmentalized. However, I am still unsure who shall take our Chief Events Officer position."

To my surprise, Starscream shuddered slightly before he spoke. "My Lord, I have had thoughts about that position and who could fill it. From a communication we recently received from one of the transports coming in from Chaar, I know a seeker femme is on her way who works with this kind of subject superbly. She would be able to act the hostess while, at the same time, not groveling to whosoever we are hosting."

Ah, now his shudder made sense. The two of them did not always get along. However, I did agree with the mech. That particular femme would be perfect for the position…provided she still proves herself loyal. And who knows? Perhaps with the improvement we all went through on Earth, those two could tolerate each other more than before. "I agree, Starscream. Upon Slipstream's arrival, I will see if she will make as good of a fit for that position as she once did. From what I remember, she was training to do just that on Vos before the bombs went off."

"She will be pleased to do that sort of work again, Lord Megatron." He then motioned away. "If you would excuse me, I have training with my trine to get done."

"Very well, Starscream. Report your findings to me if you do discover something." He nodded at my added order before he moved away from me.

Once he was out of sight, I shook my helm before moving toward the landing bay. Between inspecting certain arrivals, like Scorponok's, I needed to prepare. Not only did I need to prepare for the coming solars as more and more arrived on Pyrovar to call it home, but I also needed to prepare for her eventual arrival. Michael and I were guessing she could arrive between thirty and sixty solars after she departed from Cybertron. So, she could be here within the next fourteen solars if she was to be on the earlier side of things.

I needed this to go well. Not only that, but I also wanted to do this properly. And publicly, though, I knew she wouldn't appreciate that as much. However, I had promised those who followed me at the beginning of the war that I would one solar find a bot to call my bondmate and give them a true line heir. It would not be easy to do so, even with a bondmate, but we would try...if she would have me, of course. That was what all of this would hinge on. I would be putting my intentions to her out so the entire faction would be able to witness should they choose. And I hoped that she would accept.

Once I was done talking to Scorponok, I would find an armor mod dealer. The armor mod I planned to present to Pandimala would be one of a kind and special to her. I would make sure that I had everything ready. Everything needed to be ready. First, she would see the planet and see how well we were hopefully doing.

While I continued to worry about how she would react to what we had accomplished, I knew deep down that she would be more than appreciative. A smile ghosted my faceplate as I remembered our date to the Harbinger. The joy I had felt from her was incredible, and we didn't even have a connection at that point. What we were doing here would hopefully bring that same joy to her faceplate.

And hopefully so would my question to her.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

This anxiety was going to offline me. So far, I was halfway through my flight home without problems. None. Not even when I had to stop on Antilla. For being a planet with heavy Autobot influence, they were really helpful to me. Once I had restocked, they had even warned me that the route I had been on, the one that would have been a direct shot to Pyrovar, would take longer due to a bad solar storm that had popped up. They then pointed me onto this route.

While this route was taking longer than I had originally planned, I would miss the solar storm, and I would be able to stop down on more neutral planets. More specifically, this area of the solar system was heavily influenced by the Galactic Alliance. While the others hadn't gone into much of the Alliance's history with me, I knew they would welcome me as long as I didn't cause trouble for them.

Back to my anxiety, though, I was worried that I hadn't had any major hiccups outside of that solar storm popping up. I was never this lucky. Something was bound to happen, and the longer it took, the worse I feared it would be. I couldn't afford to waste any more time. I needed to return to my Lord.

Lord Megatron was waiting for me, and any delay in my time was longer he would have to wait for me. I didn't like to be an inconvenience to my Lord. I needed to return home—quickly, at that. I just had to hope that whatever my luck decided to dish out would not delay me anymore. My plans could not be delayed any further. They couldn't!

With the detour I was flying, I was bound to make a landing on Pyrovar forty solars from when I left Cybertron. I did not want to make my Lord wait any longer than that for my return! I would not!

Letting out a quick vent so the cold of space didn't enter my systems too much, I continued to fly forward. From my energon readings, I would make it to Tau-Ursa before I needed to land to refuel and recharge. After that, I planned to fly on to Devola for my next stop. While I technically didn't need the stop in Devola, I didn't want to arrive on Pyrovar and immediately have to rest and refuel. With the stop on Devola, I would make it to Pyrovar with about half a tank of energon left in me. That should get me through whatever my Lord may need of me.

Pyrovar. Home. I couldn't wait.

By the time I got there, I was sure there would be plenty of new Decepticons to meet. I knew that, with my time on Earth, I had only met a small fraction of the Decepticons that followed Lord Megatron. When I finally returned, I would meet them all. I would find out so much about them. I wanted to know it all. There would be so many new stories to listen to and new bots to meet.

I felt a shiver run through my chassis in excitement. I would be able to meet bots who were just as loyal to my Lord as I was. From the information I had in my past life, I knew of Strika, Lugnut, and the DJD: truly loyal bots. Strika was a fearsome strategist in most literature that I had read that could give Shockwave a run for his credits. Just a chance to meet her would be perfect.

Then, to be able to meet a mech who was straight and to the point as Lugnut's information told me he would be…I found myself excited to meet him, too. No frivolity or nonsense, just loyalty to our Lord. Plus, the training he could help me with would be immeasurable. Just the thought of all the new things I could learn sent more shivers through my chassis. That would be exciting!

And then there was the DJD. They were some of Lord Megatron's most loyal bots, and to finally meet them would be a dream. I remembered when I first heard about them when I was younger. They scared me, of course. I couldn't think of anybody who wasn't at least a little unnerved by them at the first meeting. They were ruthless in their actions in almost every story I read. However, I had learned enough being in my new home dimension to know that not everybot was like how I knew them. Starscream was a prime example of that. One I was really curious about was Vos. Was he still an Autobot spy or was he truly a Decepticon through and through? I would have to find out once I met the mech…and I would meet him.

A ping from my systems drew my attention back to my front, and I found myself staring at the giant planet before me. Vestium Major. At least three times the size of Earth, it was surprisingly similar in color. More green showed through the planet's surface than blue, but it was still there. It made me miss Earth for a click. The planet that had been my home, in my dimension, for nineteen stellars of my existence. With the stress I felt during my first solars, I didn't even realize I had my birthday pass. So, I was now twenty. I would be turning twenty-one stellars on Pyrovar if my internal calendar was lining my timing up just right.

The sound of an engine next to me caused me to turn to see two seeker class bots in alt mode on either side of me. What the frag was going on? What did I miss? I also noticed a ship above me that would fit several bots comfortably.

"Uknown vessel, this is Vestium Major Patrol Ship Delta Ray. You have flown into Vestium Major space. Respond to comms, or you shall be treated as a hostile threat." A voice suddenly came from a speaker system from the ship above me.

Oh slag! My comms were shot outside of my private messages. I needed to make sure that they knew that. So, I hopped onto my private comms before moving the messages to the general comm frequency as Lockdown showed me. "Vestium Major comm line, this is Pandimala, the unknown vessel that Vestium Major Patrol Ship Delta Ray is trying to communicate with. My comms are damaged outside of my private comms. I am not hostile. Please send instructions on how I should proceed." Frag, I hadn't realized I had gotten so close to Vestium Major. I blamed that the planet reminded me so much of Earth. From the size of the ship in front of us, this planet was primarily made up of children of Primus. So, they should know to check their general message system.

After a few clicks, the main ship came back on its speaker. "Unknown vessel, you are in Vestium Major space. Respond to comms, or you will be treated as hostile, and we will take actions to take you down."

These slaggers! Weren't they looking at the general private comm messages? "Vestium Major comm line, this is the unknown vessel you are trying to communicate with! My comms are damaged outside of private comms. Please stand down and send directions on how to proceed with landing." I figured I would have to land on the planet now, despite my wishes to keep moving. Slag, this was another delay that would keep me from my Lord!

When the two seekers who were flanking me moved away from me, I felt my spark quicken. This was not good! If they were pulling their troops away from me, I was going to have to land, and quickly. I couldn't transform out here due to my exposure to space. I could tear my circuits apart if I wasn't in the atmosphere because of how long I was out here in the freezing temperatures of space. Two cycles, sure, I could transform. But, it had been about ten solars since I had last landed on a planet. At times like this, I did not appreciate the enlarged energon tank I got from Unicron's upgrade. That, along with my increased stamina, made it so I didn't have to refuel nearly as often and didn't burn through my energon as quickly.

But, like now, the odds of my being stuck in one mode because of that were higher.

Frag.

When the two seekers started to fire on me, instincts kicked in, and I put more power behind my thrusters. I couldn't dodge them all, but I avoided the brunt of the damage. Slag it! As I tried to contact the ground comms on Vestium Major, I continued to fly around the seekers, dodging most of their fire. Thank the Allspark that Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker insisted on maneuverability training. If I kept the two seekers in my sights, I would be able to make my way to landing.

Searing pain enveloped my right wing as a large shot grazed across it. As my telemetry started to fail and I fell toward the planet, I realized I forgot to keep an optic on the patrol ship. Slag it! Slag this all! Not only was I in free fall, in pain, and still being shot at by those two seekers, but I could feel the heat from this planet's atmosphere burning against my chassis. Slag, I was entering at the wrong angle! It was hard to hold back the screams of pain that wanted to erupt from my vocals as what felt like a missile slammed into my chassis.

As I continued to fall, my chassis was diagnosing my new damage. What I got back from the report caused my spark to freeze. That latest strike had disabled my t-cog! Slag it! I would have to reroute almost all power to it to avoid extensive damage when I landed. Vaguely, as I fought against the pain that my wing sensors were practically screaming at me, I felt the presence of the two seekers move away from me again. What was going on?

When I focused my sensors in front of me, I realized what might be happening. Below me, I could sense a lot of movement. Had to be some sort of city or town. They couldn't risk me crashing and causing possible injuries or offlinings. That meant they would most likely use some air defense to take me out. Looking around the best I could, I saw something that matched the description being aimed at me.

No! If that hit me, then it would offline me. I would not go out like this! Not like this! Not after fighting against the whims of two gods and surviving! Sensing a large body of water to my north, I realized I could safely crash there. But I had to act now. Moving some of my power into my thrusters, I forced a burst of propulsion just as the system fired. A yell escaped my vocals this time as it ripped across both wings.

While I could feel the pain ripping through my flight systems, I knew my work wasn't done. With the little focus that I had left, I rerouted all of my power to my t-cog. I needed to transform, or the impact would do a lot more damage to me in my jet mode. Just because I had to do it didn't mean that it was going to stop the pain.

A cry of pain escaped my vocals as my chassis transformed. Each seam felt as if it was tearing me to shreds. Instead of the nano it took to change, the pain made it feel like an eternity. My cry turned into screams as my transformed chassis slammed into the ground. As pebbles and sticks jammed their way into my wounds and seams, I felt like this pain would never end. Finally, though, my chassis slid one last time before coming to a stop. For a few nanos, I laid with my optics offline, pain radiating from my chassis. The only thing I could think of was that I would have to keep Lord Megatron waiting even longer.

The sound of airborne and ground-based vehicles stopping and shifting metal told me that these were children of Primus. A wave of anger pulsed through my systems at that thought. Why hadn't they checked the general message system? The pain felt numb as I slowly picked myself off the ground. I could almost hear their vents silence as I rose to face them. My sight, which was damaged, couldn't count exactly how many there were.

We stood there, facing each other, for a few clicks before a wave of pain washed over my systems. If I was going to say anything, I had best do it now. So, as my vision started to darken at the corner of my optics, I pointedly glared at the seeker at the front of the group before speaking.

"Next time, check the general comm frequency. Fragging glitches."

Exhaustion and pain washed over me once more before I started to fall forward, and my vision went dark.

Chapter Text

Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

As ruler of one of the leading planets of the Galactic Alliance, I prided myself in the ability of those under my rule to think rationally through all situations that may come their way. Our calm and neutral stance had vaulted us to the position we held this solar. Not only did we help lead the Galactic Alliance, but we also served as a training planet for many beings. The most famous of those that we helped train were triple changers. Some of the most volatile and unpredictable bots, our trainers could keep their helms about them and had helped thousands of bots who entered our space. Our training, in general, was some of the most comprehensive that a being could receive.

And yet a patrol helmed by my two eldest creations had led me to this situation.

It was regularly emphasized during patrol training that all forms of communication should be analyzed when approaching a vessel. This was to make sure that we didn't end up in this sort of situation. When traveling through space, it was common enough for comms to be knocked out through various methods. Solar Storms, asteroids, and ionic debris, to name a few off the top of my processor. So, it was stressed that non-verbal communication should be analyzed thoroughly.

Yet, my eldest creations grew careless in their lessons and threw that training out completely when dealing with the small 'spacecraft' that entered our space.

Its appearance had been strange, given that there were no reports from nearby planets of a similar ship leaving their docks. That had raised suspicions immediately. Most craft of that size could not travel far without needing to refuel and, from the departure reports that we pulled from ships within that circumference of us, that ship had not come from any of them. So, I directed the patrol ship Delta Ray to intercept and communicate with the vessel. Firebrand, my eldest, was at the helm of that specific ship, and his training results should have meant that he would have been able to react accordingly. Plus, even if he hadn't been able to, my normally level-helmed and rational second creation, Seabreaker, should have caught the message the femme had been sending. He was Delta Ray's ground relay communicator and should have seen the general private message that the femme had been sending.

Yet, they had charged in when they didn't get a response.

A groan escaped my vocals as I thought about the mess we were in. A being had to be living under a rock if they didn't know about the Cybertronian Civil War being fought against opposing factions. Autobots, the supporters of their Council, and the Decepticons, who felt that they were being mistreated and rose against their rulers. The Galactic Alliance chose not to take sides in the war, though we kept tabs on each side and how they acted. Autobots, while more lenient in their interactions, seemed to have lost their purpose as of late. One of the Decepticons, Sunstorm, had been on our planet resting from his journey back to Chaar, so we were able to watch the fateful peace talks with him and record them. Watching the Autobots break the ceasefire and offline the femme was shocking, to say the least.

What was even more shocking, however, was Megatron's reaction. Decepticons were known to take vengeance with no restraint. No hesitation. No remorse. That was why those who turned from the Decepticons always seemed to be on edge when they would pass through. However, the leader of the Decepticons had basically given the Autobots exactly what they wanted while ending the fighting. While some might see that as a weakness in the leader, I knew that it took the leader more strength than any had ever shown to do so.

However, in doing that, the Decepticons would now be in a state of heightened awareness. Should word get back to them that Vestium Major, a leading planet of the Galactic Alliance, attacked and almost offlined one of their own without any provocation on the bot's side, then I feared for what we might be dragged into. Did I think that the Decepticons would defeat us and our Alliance allies? No. However, I would be a fool to think they wouldn't go down without inflicting major casualties against us. Their own ruling Council had brushed off their attack as easily dealt with, and now their planet had just been revived from the damage that war had caused.

"You are brooding," I glanced up at my bondmate as he walked in. "You never do well when you brood."

I shook my helm and waited for him to take his seat next to me before I responded. "Seabreeze, I don't know what we are going to do. Right now, our future is pinned on the reaction of the femme in medbay. It's like our eldest sons let their lessons go in one audio and out the other. To not check the message system…especially given recent galactic events…What if she demands something outrageous in restitution for shooting her down?"

My bondmate shook his helm at me. "Dawnbreaker, none of us know how this femme will react. Could she react as you fear? Possibly. However, putting strain on your systems by worrying about it will not do us any good. We just need to be ready to react to whatever may happen once she comes out of stasis. Physis will contact us when she comes to. Until then, we can only prepare. And the first way we can do that is to make sure that the femme knows we are not taking this blunder lightly. I've already called our sons to meet with you. They are waiting outside the doors right now."

Glancing toward the doors, I allowed my processor to go back to the scene we had arrived at once the femme had fallen.

Flashback

The smell of burning metal permeated the air as we flew to the crash site. When the patrol reported that they fired upon the vessel, I was worried about why a lone vessel that had not left from any nearby spaceports suddenly appeared in our space. Was this a prelude to an attack? While we were enjoying peace now, I knew the Galactic Alliance was not as stable as the front we put up to others suggested. Political infighting between the Alliance was growing worse over the stellars.

Majipoor, especially, had been starting to show hostilities toward us. While they weren't one of the leading planets of the Alliance, they were protected under the banner of Wern, who was such a member. And it was no secret to any of us how close Wern was with another leading member planet; New Quintessa. If this was an attack, we needed to be ready.

As we approached a visual distance to the crash, I expected to see ship parts scattered in all directions with a lifeless being amongst the wreckage. What I didn't expect, as we transformed, was for a femme to rise from the crash site. The damage she could take from my creations while still functioning was incredible to behold. However, it was clear that she was near her limit. And angry. Extremely angry. Where was this femme from?

My optics gazed upon the answer to that as she spoke, her vocals sounding heavily damaged. "Next time, check the general comm frequency. Fragging glitches." The triple changer finally lost consciousness and collapsed. However, despite the femme being downed, that did not stop the panic now set in my spark. For before she fell, I had seen an identifying feature emblazoned on her wings.

She was a Decepticon.

How could the patrol have missed those? It wasn't like the femme was hiding her insignias. There was one per wing, and they were highly visible even in her highly damaged state. I knew that I needed to react immediately. "We need medical evac at my coordinates. Physis, you will be needed." After I made that order, what the femme had said hit me. The general comm frequency. According to her, she had contacted it. "Shadow Grove,"

"Yes, sir?" Was the immediate response on the comm.

"Log into the general comm frequency. Has there been any communication in the past thirty clicks?" I had forbidden Shadow Grove access to outward and inward communications during the patrol. This was a final training for Firebrand and Seabreaker, and they needed to communicate with each other. That meant that Seabreaker, who was in charge of communications, should have been keeping an optic on all communication channels without help. Now, it seemed like that had imploded.

The answer was not long in coming, and it was as I feared. "Several. All coming from the same source. A femme by the designation of Pandimala was trying to communicate that she was the vessel Delta Ray was trying to communicate with. According to her message, all her communication systems outside her private comms were down, and she asked how to proceed."

Scrap! My spark felt like it was failing as I heard those words. The femme had been following proper etiquette. Any other solar of the stellar, we would have responded to her immediately and this entire situation would have been avoided. However, it seemed my eldest creations had forgotten their training, which might just cost us. With the political atmosphere as it was, we could not make any mistakes…and now we had made one of the largest ones that our planet had seen in thousands of stellars.

"Sir, are you alright?" I glanced at the seeker next to me when he asked that.

No, I wasn't alright. We weren't alright. However, that was not this mech's burden to bear right now. So, I nodded as the medical teams arrived to move the femme. "I will be fine, Gyo. Return to your flight patrol." I then turned to my Military Commander. "Scorchflint, with me back to the palace. We have much to discuss." Right now, Scorchflint would be a level helm in all of this. As my Military Commander, he would have kept an optic on the Cybertron conflict and would be able to advise me on what might come.

End of Flashback.

Once we had arrived back in the reception chamber, Scorchflint had immediately advised me on how this might go…and it was not good. As I had thought earlier, Decepticons were known for taking vengeance on any perceived wrongdoings against them. And this was much more than a perceived wrongdoing. My two eldest had dove straight into a situation without any regard for what else could be happening. They assumed that the ship, since it did not respond in a regular fashion, was a threat and immediately acted against it…her.

"Enter," I said loud enough for my sons to know I was speaking to them. There was no hesitation as the doors opened, and my two eldest sons entered.

First to enter, not to my surprise, was Firebrand. As my eldest creation, he carried himself with a confidence that, most solars, I was glad to see. As my heir, he would need that confidence once he took over leadership of Vestium Major from me. However, from his attitude that I could see now, along with the events of earlier in my helm, I could tell that solar was a long way off. Did he not realize what sort of situation their actions and inactions had caused?

At least Seabreaker seemed a little subdued as he followed behind his brother. Usually the more logical of my creations, he had been in charge of communications during that patrol. Hopefully, his submissive approach meant that he knew that he had blundered. However, I could assume nothing. Not with an injured Decepticon currently in our medbay. One that showed no aggression toward us to begin with.

"Carrier said you wished to speak with us, sire?" Firebrand asked me as if he was asking how my solar was going. My anger toward my eldest was slowly increasing. "Is this about the patrol?"

Before my eldest could bring about more of my anger, I spoke. "Yes, this is about your patrol run. Do you two realize the situation in which you placed Vestium Major?"

"Yes, sire," Seabreaker answered, almost in a whisper.

And that whisper was almost unheard over Firebrand's response. "What situation? So we made a mistake. It was just a Decepticon. For all we knew, she could have been attacking. Never can tell with"

Seabreeze's servo on my own was the only force stopping me from raising my servo against my idiot of a creation. "Is that how you view this? She could have been a danger so you attacked, regardless of the consequences? Despite your views on Decepticons, she followed procedure! She contacted the general comm frequency as one should when their communications are damaged! Regardless of your beliefs, that means this attack is squarely on our shoulders! If word reaches the Decepticons before we can negotiate with the femme, Megatron could demand an exorbitant fee for retribution. And that is a hopeful solution. You do know of the strain that the Alliance is facing, yes? Surely you have at least kept your helm out of your aft enough to hear of that?"

My spark pulsed with anger with each word I said. I needed Firebrand to realize just what sort of damage he caused. His scoff at my questions almost set me off against him. "Of course I do. It is of much more concern than a Decepticon. We need to put this behind us so we can focus on keeping our optics online for real trouble. The Decepticons could barely fight against the Autobots, and they were supposed to be militarily superior. What trouble could they cause us?"

Before I could burst a line out of frustration with my eldest, his brother thankfully spoke up. "You don't pay attention." Firebrand turned to glare at his brother. However, before he could retort, Seabreaker continued. "Any planet hosting a Decepticon or Autobot during those talks saw how hard the Decepticons tried for peace. We heard them negotiate at a level that was unheard of before. They knew just how to talk to the Autobots. Honestly, if the attack hadn't happened, they could have very well brokered peace."

"And that matters why?" Firebrand still wasn't understanding. While I wanted to lecture my creation, I saw this as a valuable teaching moment. Seabreeze, who was usually the most introverted of our four creations, was standing up to his older brother and showing that he had learned his lesson.

And he continued to do so as he spoke. "Any planet worth their credits would offer to help the Decepticons should they ask for it, just to have the wisdom and strength that the Decepticons would bring. The femme who offlined during those talks was fighting off three of the most infamous Autobots during that surprise attack. And that femme was practically unheard of before then. That would put any of the known Decepticons at such a higher standing. Plus, have you seen a Decepticon fight?"

Firebrand shook his helm. "No, I have better things to do than waste my time on stuff like that."

"Not if you think that way," Seabreeze shot back at his brother. "While our last Decepticon visitor was here, I watched a few of his training sessions with the Air Core. The air superiority that Sunstorm showed, along with his prowess with a blade, was both amazing and terrifying to watch. I talked to Kite once he departed, and he said Sunstorm admitted he was one of the least skilled fighters among the Decepticons. Combine that with the footage from the failed peace talks, and I would be worried." He then motioned to me. "Right now, we have put sire in a difficult position. On one servo, he knows that we made a mistake. Plain and simple. However, on the other, he has to show the femme that he has acted as a leader of a planet should."

I spoke up before Firebrand could continue to put his pede in his mouth. "Precisely. Plus, those rising against us could see this situation as a chance to gain an ally in the Decepticons because we attacked the femme. The longer we wait to pay restitution to the femme, the longer they have to work." I then let out a vent. "Thankfully, we have some time on our side. No planet will approach the Decepticons without complete proof and a statement against us from the femme. And make no mistake, word of this will have already left our space."

"Do you think it will reach the Decepticons?" Seabreaker asked nervously.

Thank Iussa that Seabreaker understood the severity of this. "We hope not," Seabreeze answered. "With a mass movement of Decepticons back to Decepticon space, and more specifically to their new capital world of Pyrovar, few should be in this sector of space. It is quite a surprise that this femme is near here at all. Most will be taking the direct route to Pyrovar. However, it won't take long, given Decepticon connections throughout known space. We must act quickly."

"And that starts with your punishments," I took over while sitting up a little straighter. "For now, you are both restricted to the palace until we meet with the femme. No exceptions. Also, you will both be grounded. No taking to the air. And you will each be serving five hundred cycles of community service, without your alt modes, once the femme is well enough to meet with us."

"Yes, sire," Seabreaker accepted.

As glad as I was that he was taking this so well, I was not done yet. "Finally, the femme will decide the rest of your punishment once we talk with her." I then sent a glare to my eldest. "And I will hear no complaints about this. You had best hope that the femme is the merciful sort."

"You're putting your heir's fate in the servos of a stranger?" Firebrand yelled. The mech needed to watch his tone. He was on thin ground with me as it was right now. "Just how scared are you of one femme? Maybe you,"

"Leave now, Firebrand, and take some time to think," I interrupted his rant. He was about to dig himself into trouble from which he would not be able to remove himself. "My word on this is final. There will be no debate."

While it was obvious that he wanted to argue with me, Firebrand seemed to finally realize that he was getting himself into more trouble, for he simply shook his helm before storming out. Once he was gone, his brother glanced back up at me. "He's upset that he's failed you, sire," Seabreaker seemed to feel the need to explain. "He has been working so hard to show you that he is ready to take over; this has been hitting him hard. Fire just doesn't know how to sort through this."

"While that is understandable," I agreed with my second, "This is another lesson your brother must learn as a leader. While yes, this was a mistake, we need to show that we take offenses seriously, no matter who may commit them. Given the gravity of what happened, I felt like placing some of the power in the femme's servos was the best move. It would allow the femme to take retribution to the point where the Decepticons will be satisfied that we have not belittled them. Given the recent debacle that those peace talks became, the Decepticons will be on guard. Showing them that we are sincerely sorry for what has happened will keep them from joining with those who are against us."

If I had expected Seabreaker to leave at that point, I would have been surprised when the mech continued speaking. "Sire, where are the twins right now?"

And that was another helmache…but for a completely different reason. His two younger siblings, twins, had heard about the situation, of course, and while my youngest was indifferent to what was going on right now, her brother was the bundle of curiosity that he always was. And if he was interested in something, it was only a matter of time before he dragged his sister into this. "Until the femme is ready to meet with us, I have ordered them to stay away from the medical wing. While Lightbeam is taking this just as she normally does, Grinchain has been trying to sneak in to see the femme at every nano. Scorchflint has had to set up guards just to keep an optic out for him."

A vent came from Seabreaker before he brought a servo to his faceplate in exasperation. "Only he could find a way to make this situation worse in the opposite way. We don't know how the femme will react when she wakes up, and if he is in there when she does, it could put him in danger."

"Exactly," I agreed. "If you would, keep an optic on both of them until we can talk with her."

"Yes, sire," Seabreaker agreed before he motioned to the door. "May I be excused to my quarters?"

"You are excused," I granted. Once he was gone and the door was shut, I slouched against my throne. "What sort of mess are we in right now?" I asked my bondmate.

Seabreeze shook his helm and leaned it against my own. "Not a good one, to be honest. However, we will get through this. Something tells me that this femme will change things around here."

While I did agree with my mate, I had to worry. Would that change be for the better or worse?

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

What the frag happened? The last thing I remembered was that I had been flying toward Pyrovar when I found myself passing by Vestium Major. Then everything seemed muddled together. Why were my wings feeling like they were being placed through a shredder? Frag, I just needed some answers…and maybe some rest. I knew I was pushing myself to return to Lord Megatron as quickly as possible, but I seemed to have pushed myself a little too far.

"I know you are awake,"

That got my spark racing. I immediately forced my onlining procedures to hasten before quickly looking around. "Frag, that hurt," I grumbled as I rubbed my helm. While I was still cautious about where I was, I could at least see that I was in some sort of med bay. In that case, I knew I could take a nano to gather myself. Where was I? Remembering that I had heard a set of vocals, I glanced around some more until I locked optics with a mech that had a similar build to Breakdown. Though, if I had to pick him an alt mode from Earth, it would be a military medical armored vehicle. Not sure which one, but something that is heavily armored. "Where am I?"

A concerned look crossed his faceplate before he answered me. "Vestium Major. More directly, you are in a medical room in the Vorassus Palace in the capital city of Tocania." Well…at least I knew what planet I was on.

"I guess that's a start," I responded to him as I placed a servo against my helm. Frag, it seemed like everything hurt. Everything. Why couldn't I remember what happened?

"I'll go and get something for your helmache. While I am gone, my assistant, Zipple, will take down some basic information." He then motioned to a door that soon opened to reveal a younger-looking bot about Knockout's size. However, this Zipple did not look like he wanted to be here. Great. Hopefully, my first impressions were wrong. "I'll return in a few clicks."

Zipple nodded, and things stayed quiet between us until the door shut. Once the medic was gone, who I just realized I did not get a designation for, Zipple sat on the med berth across from me. "Alrighty designation?"

"Pandimala,"

"Gender?"

"Femme."

"Age?"

I had to think on that for a nano to remember that I was currently twenty. "Twenty."

A frown appeared on my faceplate when he rolled his optics at me before writing my answer. What the frag was that for? "Race?"

Wait…what the frag was I supposed to answer for that? I mean, it wasn't so cut and dry with me. But, I figured the safest bet would be to say I was Cybertronian. "Cybertronian."

Well, at least he didn't roll his optics at me this time. "Any previous injuries?"

"You don't have that kind of time," I honestly answered him. And he didn't. Frag, just the stuff I had been through in this dimension was more than most bots saw in their entire existence. Let alone all the crap I used to get into when I was back with mom.

He gave me a disbelieving look. "Really?"

Thankfully, before I got into an argument with this young bot, the medic returned and shook his helm. "Zipple, she's a Decepticon. The Decepticons are currently fighting in a civil war. Their list of injuries will be more than we have time for in this click." The medic then turned to me. "Though if you could send me an itemized list of those injuries later, that would be beneficial for your future treatment."

Wait…future treatment? What the frag was going on here? "What do you mean by that? Why am I even here in the first place?"

The silence that fell between the two of them told me that I was missing something pretty significant in my memory banks. After a click of the two having a silent conversation between them, the medic let out a vent. "Zipple, go back to the desks. I'll take over from here." I watched as the young mech walked out. Once the doors closed, the medic turned back to me and gave me a long, studying look. "What is the last thing you remember…Pandimala?" He paused to look down at Zipple's notes from my designation.

Before answering, I thought as hard as I could about what I last remembered, "I was flying to Pyrovar from Cybertron. I had to take a detour because of a solar storm some locals on Antilla said had popped up. I think I was passing by this planet, and I am drawing a blank after that." I didn't like having gaps in my memory. It reminded me of Paul blocking my memories, which he had no right to do. While that might have kept that information out of those three's servos, I knew his real intent. He wanted to control me and who I shared the information I had with. Thankfully, Michael had put a block on his block that, while it couldn't allow me to access those memories from before Michael's interference, did allow me to access everything after Michael intervened.

A vent escaped the medic before he shook his helm. "While it would make things a lot easier if what happened didn't happen, we are honest bots here despite our mistakes. Here is what happened once you entered Vestium Major space." He then told me about everything that happened to me. As he mentioned certain events, some corresponding memories would come into place. The arrival of the patrol ship, the disregard of my general comm message, and having to fly for my survival. All of that pain. I felt my vents start to cycle as I tried to calm myself. But I couldn't. I felt myself in that same panic. That same pain. "Femme!"

I barely heard the mech's vocals as I tried to rationalize this. But, every time I tried, all I could focus on was the sound of the jets closing in on me and blasters firing at me. I needed to make sure I dodged everything! I needed to return to Lord Megatron! I needed to,

A flinch traveled through my chassis as I felt a servo connect to the back of my helm. "Ow, did you have to hit me that hard?" I grumbled as I held a servo up to my helm. Thankfully, that helm-slap did seem to snap me out of the panic my systems had just sent me into. "Thanks for that, though."

"You're welcome," The mech responded with a nod before he continued. "So, I assume you have remembered everything that has happened?"

"I was shot down," I let out with a growl. I had done everything as well as I had been taught, and I had still been shot down. "Why?"

The medic shook his helm. "That's not for me to answer Pandimala. The royal family asks for an audience with you once you have recuperated enough to move about without too much strain."

Wait, they were asking me? That didn't make a single bit of sense. They were the rulers of this planet, and while I would never bow a knee toward them, that didn't mean that I wouldn't respect them on their planet. Did they feel responsible for this? "Why are they asking me?" I questioned the mech. "Oh, and what's your designation doc?"

He looked at me with obvious confusion on his faceplate before he answered. "My designation is Physis, Chief Medical Officer of Vestium Major." This was their fragging best medic! Working on me? There was something that I was missing. "And what do you mean by that question?"

Was he having one over me, or did he not understand what I was asking? "They're royalty. And this is their planet. Why the frag would they have to ask to have an audience with me? Shouldn't I be the one trying to have an audience with them?"

The two of us stared at each other, yellow optics on green optics, before he vented. "I can't say yet. It will be a part of the talks." And right before I could move to get this fragging meeting over with, the medic pushed me back down. "But you are in no condition for that kind of talk. The fact that you have healed even half as well as you have in seven solars is a miracle in itself."

Wait wait wait…What the frag did he just say? "I've been unconscious for seven fragging solars?" I growled as that thought stayed in my processor. Frag, that was even more time away from my Lord. I needed to get off this planet as soon as possible. Maybe I would sneak out in the middle of the night and fly off before anybot could do anything?

"You should be lucky you were only out that long with the damage your chassis took!" He snapped back at me with the tone that all medics seemed to get. "Major system failure in every fragging part of your chassis. There were several times when we thought you weren't going to pull through. We finally got you to this point by putting your most damaged parts into medical lockdown once we had them stable."

I felt my optics narrow as he said that. There were parts of me on medical lockdown? What the fragging hell did that mean? "What do you mean part of me is on medical lockdown?"

To his credit, he didn't flinch at the glare I sent his way as he answered. "Your wings and t-cog were almost unsalvageable. However, once we repaired them, we knew that your systems would need time to adjust to the new plating and cables we had to replace. Since they were the most damaged areas, they were returned to a stationary state and medically locked so they can not be used until they are unlocked."

I felt an emptiness creep into my systems as he said that. My wings…my t-cog…I couldn't use them. While my t-cog honestly wasn't as big a deal since I didn't depend on it to defend myself, my wings were another story. The last time they were in that state was before they popped. I couldn't go through that again. Not again.

Then, the logical side of my processor caught up to what he was saying. No wings plus no t-cog meant I was stuck on their planet until he approved their healing process. While I knew that the dark energon in my systems was already helping repair my chassis from what they did, I knew it would still be too long. Every nano I was stuck here, doing nothing, was too long away from Lord Megatron. I was supposed to return to him. He was waiting for me, and I had stopped making progress.

If I was stuck here, I would take every advantage I could to make sure that this time was not wasted in vain. I remembered a few things from my studies with the others about foreign powers, but I needed to know more. This planet was going to be my temporary home for the foreseeable future, and I needed to make sure that I did not embarrass my Lord as his representative. And that meant that I needed to know more about where I was. As any strategist worth their reputation knows, you should always familiarize yourself with your surroundings before making any rash decisions. Right now, I needed that more than ever. "Could you get me data pads about Vestium Major and the Galactic Alliance?"

He looked suspicious at my request but, to my surprise, didn't say anything to that end. Instead, he nodded before he spoke. "Yes, what are you wanting from them?"

"Everything."

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

It wasn't fair. Sure, they were a few stellars older than me. And they were further in that stupid training than I was. But I was fascinated with the Autobot Decepticon war. Utterly fascinated with it. It was amazing to research just what the Council was able to get away with during the 'Golden Age' of Cybertron. While the Galactic Alliance did not support any side in this war, it was easy to see that the Decepticons were right to raise grievances against the Autobots.

The conditions that were revealed when neutrals would ask for sanctuary in return for memories were some of the most horrid that we had ever seen. Not only that, but some even had physical proof in their memories of trying to better themselves and being stopped cold by the higher-caste bots. Honestly, it was amazing that none of the Alliance noticed the discrepancies during their visits to the planet. The starvation, the almost lawlessness of the outlier city-states, and the brutality they had to live in just to survive solar to solar were horrendous and yet fascinating at the same time.

But then, as their war dragged on longer and longer, the Decepticons lost their way. Instead of fighting for their rights, they became ruthless shells of what they were. They didn't hesitate to break galactic law just to appease their goals. It was sickening to look at. Of course, they weren't the only ones. From the evidence and testimonies that the Alliance had in their databases, the Autobots were also in some dark times.

Near the end of the most recent campaign that the higher command had been involved with, however, that morality shifted again. While not as drastic as what was seen during the main fighting, the change was significant enough to bring about peace talks. If anybot had suggested that the Autobots and Decepticons would have peace talks in my existence, I would have thought they had lost a part of their processor. However, as reports had been sent in from across the galaxies, there was more than enough evidence that it was possible.

"What are you doing?" I stood straight as that voice came from behind me. Frag, I had been caught!

Turning, I let out a nervous chuckle at Bastof, the guard assigned to the medical wing. "Ah, nothing much. Just stretching my leg struts a bit."

The mech gave me a disbelieving glance, and I knew my excuse hadn't worked. "You can do that in the opposite direction, mech."

"This is a bunch of slag," I grumbled with a shake of my helm. "I just want to talk with the femme. Five clicks. That's all I need. I just want to hear her story! My brothers got to interact with her already,"

"When they shot her down," Bastof reminded me. "Of which they are already receiving punishment for and will receive more once the femme can meet with your creators."

"Details," I huffed, though I knew he was right. But it still bothered me that I wasn't allowed to meet this femme. I wanted to meet her. From the little I could squeeze out of Gyo before sire put me on lockdown, the femme was able to take one frag of a beating. From what he told me, most bots wouldn't have stayed online with even half the injuries that the femme was able to take. I needed to meet her! "Come on, just two clicks? In and out with nobot the wiser." I then gave him my best begging optics.

However, his spark had to be on lockdown because he just gave me a plain glance back. "I would be wiser. And the answer is still no mech. You do realize the situation right now with that femme? We can't risk anything happening until she meets with your creators. That means you will turn around and return to the other parts of the castle before I officially call this in." His look then hardened. "And if I hear any more about you trying to get down here without your creators' permission, I'll make sure Scorchflint assigns you so much training that you don't get to meet the femme until every other bot on Vestium Major has gotten the chance. Do I make myself clear?"

The glare I was sending him would hopefully melt him where he stood. "Very," I grumbled in response before turning and walking away.

Frag them all. What if she didn't want to talk with me after she talked with my creators? That was especially since I would have to be in the room with them, along with my elder brothers and my twin. Oh, the bot is royalty? 'I can't talk to him unless fifty other bots are around, and I have to watch what I say.' It happened every time we got a visitor. Whether they be Autobots or Decepticons, I would get a few questions answered by them before they would clam up. I wanted to just have a regular conversation with the bots that came. Get to know them.

But, from how stubborn everybot was being mixed with how badly my brother had fragged up, this would be another bot in that category. Scared off from talking with me, really talking with me, because of my family. Perhaps the bot would be different? However, I wouldn't bet on that. This was fragging messed up!

"Careful brother," I jumped out of my circuits when my sister's vocals suddenly came from next to me. Her smirk told me that she knew exactly what she was doing. "You're going to blow a gasket, getting all angry like that."

I sent her a glare at that. "Oh, hilarious, Lightbeam. Think of that all on your own? What are you doing in this sector anyways?"

"Trying to stop you. I might not like many of our creators' decisions, but you going against this one would be stupid. And as much as I make fun of you, I know you aren't stupid," She responded with a roll of her optics.

I gave her a disbelieving look at that. "You? Listening to our creators? Since when?"

My sister was like the poster femme of delinquency, and hearing her say that we should listen to our creators was something I did not expect to hear. At all. This solar was almost worth it just because of that. I wasn't sure what sort of fate came with the Decepticon in the medical wing, but it was making everything crazy.

"Since this is bigger than just our planet," She growled back at me. "Look, listen to me, or don't. That's your call. However, just think about what sort of mess Firebrand and Seabreaker have made and ask if you want to add to that? Or if that femme down there would be any more willing to talk to you if she learned that you were disobeying orders from our creators? If she has any sort of processor on her, she won't want to talk to you after that." Lightbeam then shook her helm before walking away.

Wait…that was toward the doors to go outside. "And where are you going? I thought you just said we should listen to our creators about this? Doesn't that mean we should stay inside as they asked as well?"

She glanced back at me with a smirk. "Only about our interactions with the femme, brother. And since there are more guards around the medical wing now, thanks to you, I should be able to go out with a better chance of not getting caught." She then disappeared around a corner.

Fragging femme. She planned this. And while Bastof said he wouldn't make an official report on my attempt, he was probably going to tell Scorchflint about it off the record, which would mean even more bots would get pulled to watch the medical wing. Honestly, my sister sometimes terrified me.

Arriving at my room, I entered the code to get in before I walked in. While it would be a pain in the aft to wait, I knew I had no other choice now. Between the guards and my sister, I consciously knew it would be against my best interests to try again. But frag did this sting. An obvious Decepticon, right here and without knowledge of me yet, and I couldn't talk with them without major consequences. Hopefully, the femme would be open to talking after finding out who I was. Sometimes, being royalty was slagging annoying.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

The first thing I registered as I came out of recharge was that I was in less pain than I had been for the past three solars. A growl slipped through my vocals at the thought of being stuck here. I needed to return to my Lord as soon as possible. But now, that was not going to happen for a while. Medical lockdowns were serious business. Outside of functionality, whatever systems were under the lockdown were inoperable. That meant my t-cog and wings were out of commission: no flying or transforming.

And then there was the glaring problem I had spent the last few solars studying: Vestium Major and the Galactic Alliance as a whole. While I asked for everything they had on the subjects to study, something told me I didn't have everything. That was alright for now. Every ruler had their secrets, and unless they affected me or my Lord, I didn't care about them. What was worrying, however, was the strain in the Alliance that I could see just from the materials I was given. Political differences and the strain that different conflicts, including our own, had placed on them were bringing the Galactic Alliance to a breaking point.

And I knew the attack against me would not get hidden in a corner. Vestium Major had goofed up, and their enemies would see this as the weakness it was. It somewhat explained my question to Physis about why I was being asked, and not requested, to meet with the royalty. They were trying to cover for themselves, and whichever bots had made the mistake of shooting me down. That was especially since I followed all procedures in that situation.

Given the embassies on this planet, not all were on the most friendly terms with the planet; their enemies were most likely already sending envoys to this planet to get a statement about the attack from me. If they were planning on attacking Vestium Major, then the Decepticons would be valuable allies. Could they do without us? Most likely. However, Decepticon space governed much space that the other Alliance members didn't have advantage of, and we were powerful.

Another factor that I needed to bring in was that many of these planets, if they were hosting an Autobot or Decepticon, had access to that disaster, which was the 'peace talks'. Something that the Decepticons had gotten out of that was that all of those viewers got to witness just how logical the Decepticons truly were…even in a state of betrayal as we faced. And all that didn't even include the reputation that my fellow Decepticons had built of our strength long before that. We took care of our own, and if Vestium Major didn't meet with me before those other planets spoke with me and contacted Lord Megatron, we could be facing another war.

I would not allow my Lord to be used in such a way. But I had to play this smart. With the advantage I had in meeting with the leaders of this planet, added to their precarious situation, I had the power to make sure that the Decepticons came out of this in the right position. What that was, I wasn't sure yet. Most of that would be determined by how this talk with the royalty went along with my recovery.

The sound of the doors opening caused me to turn as Physis entered. As he did, I noticed that he looked tense. Why did he look tense? "What's got your circuits in a bind?" I decided to just get out of the way. Sometimes, a good strategist knew when to avoid the main issue and when to attack it directly. This one needed direct questioning so that there was no misunderstanding.

"'Oh, hi, Physis. How's the weather? Did you recharge well?' I mean, is small talk foreign to you?" Physis grumbled as he began to take his solarly scans of me.

I resisted the urge to roll my optics at him and let out a small vent instead. "Not when you look like you are about to be blown to bits at any nano." I held still for a nano as he scanned the area that my t-cog was in. "So, care to share doc?"

There was the regular glare at my use of the term 'doc,' which he was getting delightfully annoyed at before he spoke. "If you are in fit enough condition after this exam, I have been asked to ask if you are ready to meet with Lord Dawnbreaker and his family."

They were getting antsy. Something must have changed. Perhaps one of their political opponents was on their way? That would certainly be enough to worry them. However, they had to keep the choice in my field, or their one hope of safety would be gone. I needed to keep my helm about me during this. In theory, I could create an ally out of Vestium Major for my Lord if this played out well. It would make the time I was away from him worth it. But this was not going to be easy. I barely knew anything about Earth politics and how to make them.

Let alone ones on a foreign world I had started deeply studying three solars ago.

I knew that I couldn't keep them waiting long if what I suspected was true. They would be more willing to agree to my terms if they didn't have to watch out for what their political enemies were also thinking. While I might be able to get other deals out of their enemies if they were here while we talked, I might not want to. So far, the royalty of Vestium Major had responded accurately and thoughtfully to the mistake that was made. They appeared to be the ones I wanted to focus my efforts on. As I thought earlier, this meeting with the Royalty would either solidify that thought or remove it entirely.

That was especially given what I was supposed to do and planned on not doing.

"Well, Physis," I started as he moved his scans to other damaged areas. "If you give me a clean enough check to go and talk with them, we might as well get this done once we are done here."

My response caused him to stop for a nano and glance at me in surprise. "You would meet with them this solar?"

"Right after this exam, if possible," I emphasized. I didn't want to wait until later. Sometimes, the best reactions were seen in surprise situations. I knew more about that than most.

The surprise in his optics told me that he wasn't expecting that. Good. I didn't like being predictable when I could help it. Chaos was not inherently a bad thing. I was coming to find that Chaos was a good tool to use when you wanted to get a good read on someone. Chaos and its influence told me that Paul was only interested in his own goals, with no care for what I might want or any other futures… better futures.

A ding from Physis' scanner caused the mech to snap out of the surprise I placed him in. Immediately, he stood and moved to the monitor he had used during all of my exams of late. There was no doubt in my processor that he was in contact with said royalty, letting them know of my decisions. Well, I couldn't expect a complete surprise drop in of them. But this ought to shake them up a little bit. Keep them off their game.

While I was willing to give them a chance, I was still nervous around them. Somebot, under their command, had ordered me to be shot down without checking the general comm line. There was a chance, though that was becoming smaller and smaller as I spent more time here, that they had shot me down on purpose. I needed to be aware of my surroundings while doing this. My Lord was expecting me home, and I could not disappoint him.

…Not again.

"All of my scans appear that you are fit enough to leave the medical wing. However, you are to take things easy for a few more solars. Nothing too strenuous for you. You will have some residual pains from the damage and repairs. If it becomes too much, you are to rest. It's a miracle that you are this healed. Though I guess you have seen a lot, given those medical records."

While I hadn't given them everything that I had ever taken as damage, the list that I had given Physis was enough to prove that I had taken a few hits in my existence and recovered. Of course, dark energon was kept clear out of that report. While I knew the substance coursed through my lines, it didn't appear on scans. I found this out on one of my first stops on this trip, where I allowed the neutral medic on Antilla to clean up some of my damage from that fight on Cybertron. I had been worried about him picking up the dark energon. However, he just did the exam and said everything seemed fine…for the state I was in.

I wasn't going to press about that anymore.

"So, it looks like I have a meeting to attend," I responded while pulling myself off the med berth. While I was unstable at first, I soon found my pedes and nodded toward the medic. I figured I would be escorted to their meeting chambers, whatever they called them here. This was it. The first step that would affect my plans going forward here on Vestium Major.

If I was being completely honest with myself, I was nervous about meeting with the royalty. While I knew I would have the advantage at this meeting, there was one fatal flaw I would be going into this meeting with, and I knew that it would hinder me. I had never been in this sort of formal meeting before. The closest I had personally been to all that kind of stuff was the reports I would give Lord Megatron. Even with those, which weren't anything near as formal as this would be, they were with my Lord, and I felt at ease speaking with him.

These were going to be strangers, and while I would keep up formalities as much as I could, I knew that I would bother some bots with how I would interact with the royalty. But I had to remember that I was not here by choice. Their mistake was what forced me to stay here. If it weren't for them, I would be only solars from arriving on Pyrovar. Instead, I was stuck here. I needed to make sure that it was clear to them.

Without screwing everything up, of course. How hard could it be?

When two larger bots suddenly stepped in, I saw they were nervous about me. My only experience with other bots was the whole conflict on Earth and slightly on Cybertron, along with the brief stops I made on this trip. Those two looked close to the combiner heights I had seen in training videos—nothing to sneeze at here at all. Well, at least they were taking me seriously.

"Pandimala," I glanced at Physis as he motioned to the two bots. "These are Custov and Hazenspar. They will be escorting us to your meeting."

Us? "You're going to be there too?" I asked the medic as I continued studying the two bots I was just introduced to.

Custov and Hazenspar looked like they would transform into the same type of hauler construction vehicle. With their size, they would have to be the ones that I used to only be the height of half a tire, with just how massive those two bots were. Custov had the standard color I would see on most Caterpillar vehicles on Earth, while Hazenspar was black and red with yellow markings. Their optics were also different colors, with Custov having dark red optics and Hazenspar having yellow optics.

In response to my question, though, Physis just gave me a 'really?' look before he finally answered me. "Of course, I am coming with you. I'm not sure how you have been able to recover so quickly, but I am not taking any chances with you. You might be physically ready for a meeting; however, I need to be on servo just in case something goes wrong. I haven't labored over your recovery this much just for something to go wrong now."

"Aw, I knew you liked me," I teased the medic as we followed Custov and Hazenspar out of the room. As we walked down the halls, I took advantage of the change in scenery to study just what was around me. I had been cooped up in that fragging room since I woke up, and while I understood the need to, seeing more of this planet was an opportunity that I was not going to pass up.

It was honestly amusing watching the stares of the different bots we passed. I mean, I was a stunning bot, but they didn't have to stare that much? No, I knew that they were worried. While I did not doubt that details about me were being withheld from the citizens here, they had to be concerned that a Decepticon was currently on their planet. We didn't have the best reputation in the galaxies, and while I knew my Lord was working hard to change that, it would take time. I needed to be careful while I…was…

I stopped as I stared out the glass walkway we had been moving on. Seeing this planet on my flight in had been enough to remind me of Earth. However, seeing the world's surface, my spark felt an even deeper connection between Vestium Major and my old homeworld. Technology and organic life working together in such harmony made me feel like I was back there. Back taking my classes in high school, back to losing myself in my writing while keeping up with my efforts with the debate team. Of all those nights when mom and I would crawl up on the roof and stare at the night sky. While it was daytime right now, I hoped this planet allowed a view of the stars like Earth did.

The green leaves on the trees moved as they were caught up in the drafts of flight mode bots casually flying through the air, grass just as fragile looking as it did on Earth while bots moved about their solarly lives, and even the blue water of the lake as boats moved across its surface. I felt a tear roll down my faceplate and quickly wiped it away. This… wasn't the time for this.

"Pandimala, are you alright?" Physis asked.

Looking back at the three of them, I realized they looked concerned. Guess I did just randomly stop there. Nodding, I rejoined them. "Apologies. Your planet is very beautiful." I gave as the only reasoning they would get from me for now.

Though, as we walked away from the scene, I felt a pang of sorrow. How had Cybertron looked before the war? Did it hold just as much beauty as Vestium Major did? Of course, I knew it hadn't had organic influences, but I was sure that Cybertron held a beauty all its own before the war tore it apart. While I knew the war was necessary, my spark clenched in slight pain. With the Autobots running the planet now, I seriously doubted that the planet would return to that state. I could only anticipate the beauty that the Decepticon's new capital world, Pyrovar, would hold for those of us who would call it home.

I moved those thoughts to the back of my processor as the four of us moved into a new section of this palace…I think Physis called it Vorassus Palace. With the halls becoming more ornate in their decoration, I did not doubt that we were nearing the throne room of this place. Well, this would be it. More and more optics continued to glance at us as we neared the large doors that I assumed would lead to this throne room. This was it. I would soon learn what I needed to learn to determine if I should try to make an ally out of Vestium Major…

…or an enemy.

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

This was utter slag. It had been solars since the femme had got here. Solars. And she still hadn't asked for a meeting with sire and carrier. I wanted to meet her, ask her questions about being a Decepticon, and just make sure she saw me as a regular bot. But no. That last one wasn't going to happen. And since that last point wasn't going to happen, the first two probably weren't going to either. The Decepticon would probably act like every other fragging bot did the nano they learned that I was fragging royalty. They would dodge my questions like they were afraid that sire and carrier would take their helm off if they even looked at me in the wrong way, let alone answer some of my questions. I wanted to know so much.

And given that this bot was traveling from the direction of Cybertron when my brothers fragged up, then maybe this Decepticon would have information about what happened during the last part of the fighting. It was a turning point in the fighting of their war, and the Decepticons must have been influenced by something on that small organic world to change in the way that they did…especially in such a small amount of time. The femme was my only hope of getting answers. With tensions in the Galactic Alliance and the stress that the Cybertronian Civil War had placed on the galaxies, the femme might hold answers.

But, as I lay on my berth, I knew the odds of that happening were slim. And I mean slim. Politics were all bots cared about when they met with carrier and sire. And we creations were just tools for that. They couldn't risk answering my questions. It might tip the balance of whatever political games they would play. Or, as I thought plenty of times before, they would be terrified of getting my creators on their bad sides by talking with me. With how much time had passed since the femme had been reported to be awake, I had a feeling that I had lost my chance.

It wasn't fair!

A snarl left my vocals as I threw the stress relieving toy that Gyo had brought me the other solar. We were close enough that he felt I could use the toy to work out my frustration at all of this. But, the simple, pliable sphere had done little to help me get over the sting of this.

When the sphere hit the wall next to my door, I jumped slightly as said door opened. There, standing in the doorframe, was my brother Seabreaker. While I wasn't surprised to see him, since sire had him 'watching' me for the past few solars, the serious look on his faceplate could only mean one thing. "The femme is ready?" I asked my brother as I stood.

I noticed a nervous look in his optics as he nodded. "Yeah, I guess she told Physis that she was ready for a meeting as soon as he cleared her. Sire has ordered us all to the throne room for this meeting."

As much as I wanted to meet the femme, I knew why my brother was nervous. It was on his orders, along with Firebrand's, that caused this mess. And sire would be informing the femme of the role the two of them played during this meeting. "Well, let's get to it," I responded to him before moving toward him. Once I was next to him, we walked out of my room and made our way to the throne room.

"Grin," I glanced sideways at my brother when he hesitated. Seabreaker might not like socializing with bots much, but he never hesitated like that. He was worried about how this was going to go. "I know you have been studying the Cybertronian conflict more than any of us have, so you would know this answer best. Based on what you have studied, what can I expect the femme to demand as my punishment for this?"

While I wanted to let my brother know everything would be alright with this…I wasn't sure about that. No sentient being in their right processors got on the bad side of a Decepticon…and that was especially when the Decepticon was following procedures. Firebrand and Seabreaker were probably not going to like what the femme demanded. "Honestly, depending on what she was doing when you both ordered her shot down, it could be bad. Not offlining bad, but bad enough where your chassis might be altered." At his worried look, I figured I could try to lessen the blow. "But, that might not happen. Just be prepared for it. While only the DJD was known for torturing bots on their list or got in the way of their orders, the Decepticons are just so varied that anything could happen."

I might be younger than Sea, but at least he realized I would know the most about what might happen with this femme out of us siblings. But, with my knowledge, I also knew that the femme might blow expectations out of the water. That was the difficulty in estimating the Decepticons that one might meet. They were so different from each other that you never really knew what you would run into.

"I'm moving, 'Brand!"

As Seabreaker and I came to a merging hallway, I shook my helm as Lightbeam glared at our eldest brother, who also looked in a foul mood. Guess the rumors I heard were true. He was not happy that our creators were putting any power in the femme's servos. And now that solar was here. My sister, knowing her, probably wasn't happy that she was being forced to attend this 'meeting' since she wasn't involved in anything that happened. Lightbeam didn't like listening to the rules and orders that our creators gave much. I would say not at all, but she agreed with them about leaving the femme alone instead of letting me sneak in there. But that was the extent of it. She almost made escaping the watch of our guards an art form, and she knew almost every single exit outside of the palace.

"We just need to get this farce over with," Firebrand grumbled as we kept walking. "The fact that we are groveling at this femme's pedes is ridiculous." He then shook his helm. "Just wait until I tell Sharpstreak about this. His creators wouldn't put him through this if he was in this situation."

I rolled my optics at his complaining. Whenever things were going bad, Firebrand would run off to his buddy, who was here for triple-changer training. Sharpstreak was, like Firebrand, heir to his planet's throne. However, something that my sister and I agreed on was our dislike of the mech. Pova was not only a leading planet in the alliance as we were, but they were also close allies during this time of uncertainty. However, given how Sharpstreak liked to act, I was worried about what would happen when he started to rule Pova. He was a bully, and I hated how much Firebrand confided in the mech.

"That might not be the smartest move, Fire," Seabreaker responded to my eldest brother's statement. "Given everything that might happen this solar, tensions will be increased in the alliance, and we shouldn't be gossiping about it with other bots…despite our political alliance with them."

Firebrand glared at Seabreaker. "This would be an even better time to bring our allies in closer. I'm sure sire and carrier will understand that I will tell him so he can tell his creators. If this situation is as serious as everybot keeps implying, then we will need our allies."

Honestly, Firebrand wouldn't have a bad argument if it weren't for two things. Firstly, I knew he wasn't taking this situation with the Decepticon as seriously as he should be. That much was painfully obvious, and I knew that the Decepticon would also see that in my brother. The second, and honestly most important part of that, was that while Pova was an ally of Vestium Major, Sharpstreak had his own goals, and I wouldn't put it past the mech to give the information that my idiot older brother might give him to…less honest bots.

"That's assuming that aft won't spread whatever you tell him around like the pain in aft as he is." Lightbeam, Iussa, bless my sister, did not have the same restraint that Seabreaker and I had when it came to my brother's ability to be a pain in the aft himself.

A growl escaped Fire at that. "Say that again, Lighty. Come on. See what I do."

While I knew my sister would more than love to take him on his offer, both were stopped from saying anything more as we opened the rear entrance to the throne room. Guess they were going to keep this argument between us…for now. First smart thing Firebrand has done during this whole situation, from what I heard.

While I wanted to stand by Seabreaker during this, since he was going to need the support and he had shown that he deserved my support, I knew that sire was going to want to have Firebrand and Seabreaker next to each other, given that they were the two guilty parties in this. This way, when he informed the femme of this, they would be together, so the femme knew that my sire had already spoken to them about this.

We all tensed as the doors to the throne room opened, and the first ones in were Custov and Hazenspar. Was sire that concerned about the femme's reaction to everything that they had our two largest guards escort the femme, and Physis, to this meeting? Slag. I mean, I knew Decepticons were dangerous, but to have both of them here spoke volumes about how concerned we should be.

Chapter Text

Seabreaker's 1st P.O.V.

My systems felt tense as the femme walked forward. I knew I had screwed up, but I felt fear deep in my circuits as I studied the femme closer. Her entire demeanor screamed power and anger, and thanks to my click of stupidity as well as Firebrand's, we were the targets of that anger and power. Of course, I knew she was strong. She had taken so many hits, and yet she still survived the crash landing that she had. Honestly, even having Custov and Hazenspar here wasn't making me feel better.

While Grinchain was the expert on the Cybertronian Civil War out of the four of us, anybot worth their plating knew never to judge a Decepticon by their size. Their leader, Megatron, was enough for that to be true. While the mech was by no means small, he did have soldiers under him that towered above him in height and strength. That just went to prove just how efficient of a leader the mech was.

Now, there was a chance I wouldn't be walking out of this room completely intact. That thought alone terrified me. Yet, thinking back to the mess the femme was in when she stood from that crash, I would be getting off easy if that was all she did. While we didn't know what the femme was doing in this part of space, we ignored the general comm frequency and assumed the femme was refusing to answer us. While I knew the frequency was rarely used, I still should have checked it. While Firebrand did share in the blame for this, I realized that I was the most responsible for this mess. Acting as the communicator for our patrol, my duty was to check those comm channels…even if I wasn't ordered to do so.

"Greetings, Lord Dawnbreaker of Vestium Major," the femme greeted us with a nod of her helm toward us. Strange. Most formal standings said one should give a full bow before the ruler of a planet and kneel if they ruled over more than one, as sire did. However, this femme felt as if a nod of her helm was all she needed to do.

When I heard a scoff coming from Firebrand, my instincts kicked in, and I immediately elbowed the mech. This was not the time to instigate anything with the femme, given why this meeting was being held. "Fire," I hissed at the mech, hoping the femme had not caught on.

However, the femme was, unfortunately for right now, the observant type. "No, let him say what he wants. If we can't be honest with each other during this, then this talk won't go well." She then focused her optics on my older brother. "Do you have something you wish to say?"

Of course, with the open invitation from the femme, Firebrand didn't feel he needed to hold back. "Of course I do. Here you are, expecting us to cower before you when we have more important things to deal with. So we made a mistake. Everybot makes mistakes. We fixed you up. That should more than cover any slight we did. The fact that we are doing this infuriates me."

As my brother was ranting, I noticed that the femme was looking between all of us. Possibly gauging our reactions to his rant? I had a feeling that the femme was smarter than Firebrand was thinking she was, and she was using this as a way to study us. But for what?

"I see. And, to a small extent, I agree with you," I know my optics about popped out of my helm when the femme answered him like that. "Bots make mistakes every solar. I have made plenty of them. However, every sentient being should know that when one makes a mistake, one should make reparations for it. Yes, you repaired me. However, that was to avoid the consequences that would have rained down on you should I have offlined."

"Is that a threat?" Firebrand snarled. I could see our creators visibly aging as Firebrand argued with the femme. Lightbeam looked as bored as she normally did, and Grinchain looked like he wasn't far behind our creators.

However, the femme continued to surprise me when she just smirked. "Simply an observation. I have orders from my Lord to return to him, and the order to shoot me down caused a delay in my arrival to Pyrovar. And, until I am cleared to leave here by your medic, which, given the results of my exam, is quite some time away, then those who gave the order to have me shot down will keep repaying me for the time I am losing returning to my Lord." At this point, that smirk had turned into a neutral look. She then glanced at my creators. "Lord Dawnbreaker, I will assume that this meeting is to discuss the attack on myself and those responsible?"

My sire gave the femme a nod. "Yes,"

I felt like I should step forward and take responsibility now instead of waiting for my sire to speak. Something told me the femme would appreciate that more than if I waited for sire to point me out. I noticed my sire flinch as I stepped forward; however, I was watching the femme. I knew that this was risky. As Grinchain had said earlier, Decepticons were known for being unpredictable. However, I had to go with what I felt was correct, and this was it.

"Greetings, femme. I am Seabreaker, second creation of Lord Dawnbreaker and Seabreeze, and I am mostly responsible for the blunder that caused you to be shot down." I then gave the femme a full chassis bow and held it before continuing to speak. "I was in charge of the communications for the mission and failed to check the general comm line. It was a grave mistake that could have cost you greatly, and I know that no amount of begging and pleading will make up for it. Regardless of how this talk turns out, I wish to truly express just how sorry I am for being behind this mistake." The room was quiet for a nano, and I was tempted to lift my helm. However, I knew that it would show more penance, which I did feel, if I kept my helm down and in a submissive form to the femme.

After a few clicks, the femme, who I realized I did not have a designation for yet, finally spoke. "While I expect there to be consequences for your failure to act appropriately in the situation," I flinched at how the femme started to speak. This was it. I should start getting used to, "I do appreciate you coming forward on your own and confessing this to me. It takes a strong character to admit when one is wrong and an even greater one to be ready to accept the punishment for those actions. Lift yourself up," I did so as the femme continued to speak. I was surprised to see a smile on her faceplate. "My designation is Pandimala, and on that designation, I do accept your apology."

"Thank you," I responded to Pandimala before moving to stand next to Firebrand again.

As I did, though, I noticed that the femme had a thoughtful look on her faceplate, yet she did not say anything. Was she going over what I just said, or did my actions just now tell her more about what happened? "Lord Dawnbreaker," Pandimala moved to address my sire. I could still hear the respect behind the femme's vocals, so I hadn't messed things up with my stunt. "Is it wrong for me to assume that more than just Seabreaker was responsible for the attack against me?"

Instead of sire answering the femme, carrier decided to speak on sire's behalf. "I am Seabreeze bondmate of Dawnbreaker, Pandimala, and you are correct. While Seabreaker was in charge of communication of the mission, our eldest and heir, Firebrand, was in charge of the entire patrol that called in the attack against you."

The room went silent as Pandimala moved her gaze to where Firebrand and I were standing. If I had to hazard a guess, she was waiting to see if Fire would make a move on his own to apologize as I did. However, the femme was wasting her time. Firebrand was angry enough that this was happening and that the femme was going to be given the right to delve out punishment to both Firebrand and me.

After a few clicks of silence, sire finally spoke up. "In regards to the punishments that they will be facing," He then placed his clasped servos on his legs before he continued. "They have been confined to the palace until this meeting and may continue being so depending on how this meeting ends. The two of them will also be grounded from their alt modes for the foreseeable future. Five hundred community service hours must be completed by each of them, and we are leaving the rest of their punishment in your servos."

It felt refreshing to see the surprised look cross Pandimala's faceplate, for the nano that it did, before she glanced between all of us. I guess sire could take a bot by surprise when he wanted to. Before then, the femme seemed to be in charge of this meeting. It was terrifying to see how easily the femme stepped up when given the opportunity. "Very well," She started with one more glance toward Firebrand and me before she refocused on sire. "Firstly, I do not expect their confinement to continue. Being isolated from the world can cause more harm than good." She then paused for another nano before continuing. "Secondly, the two of them will not simply be grounded from their alt modes. Due to their attack against me, my t-cog and wings are in medical lockdown. Theirs should be as well until my lockdown is removed."

My wings tensed as the femme made that demand. To be on medical lockdown was not a light thing. Every function that required your t-cog would be unable to be used, and that would put my brother and me in a highly vulnerable state. The only weapons we would have available would be those spares we kept in our subspace. Now, we would have to get used to those since they would be our only defense.

"You can't be serious," Firebrand growled. He was furious right now. He used his flight times to hang out with his friends and this would seriously hinder that since he wouldn't be able to sneak out and fly with his t-cog on medical lockdown. Of course, I could see the femme's reasoning in this, even if my brother was not quite as enlightened as I was. "Taking away our t-cogs is,"

"You lost the chance to say anything when you didn't step forward," The femme's snarl shook me as she glared at my brother. If I offlined this solar, it was Firebrand's fault. "At least your brother realized he was in the wrong. And what was that about taking away your t-cog? If you haven't noticed, your actions have cost me the use of mine until it is healed, along with my wings. Since I will be in this vulnerable state, as the ones responsible, you should be as well."

When it sounded like Firebrand was going to say something else, I couldn't take it anymore and slammed my servo into his vocals. He needed to keep quiet while the femme was delegating our punishments. Right now, she was being very reasonable, and I did not need him digging our family into a deeper hole than he already was. "Apologies for the noise. Please continue when you are ready," I spoke to the femme and hoped she didn't get mad at me for shutting him up when she wanted him to speak earlier.

Relief flooded me when I saw that she looked amused, I was guessing at what I did before she continued over Firebrand's hacking and glaring at me. "Lastly," Wait, this was going to be it? "I am going to need a guide during my time here. Until my relationship with Firebrand improves, I don't think he should be a part of this punishment for now." A chill traveled down my spinal strut when her optics seemed to focus on me. "So, I wish for Seabreaker here to be my guide."

Be her guide? Accepting my punishment from the femme was one thing, since I had made this error. It was another thing entirely to be her guide. It was almost terrifying. Decepticons were known to be a completely varied sort of bots. You never knew what might happen in meeting with a Decepticon. And now I would have to spend all my free time showing one around and possibly be alone with her.

What was clear from how she talked was that she was upset at being delayed from returning to Megatron. And our mistake caused that goal to be delayed. Getting in a Decpticon's way was not something bots endeavored to do. Hopefully, I would live through the next solars.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

It was interesting to watch the reactions to my demand. Lord Dawnbreaker and Seabreeze seemed to relax as I spoke that. Of course, I knew the rumors that surrounded the Decepticons, and most held some truth. I could only imagine what sort of horrors they might have expected me to take in retribution for what they did. Honestly, I had thought about a few things on that first solar I was awake. Feeling so helpless, I had wanted their world to feel the pain that I was feeling at being delayed. However, as I continued to heal and read the material I had requested, I realized that fate might have brought me here to help.

This family was falling apart at the seams, and the destabilization of such an influential family on this planet would only hurt the Decepticons in the long run. I needed to make sure that they were able to stay afloat before I left here. A stable ruling family would allow for a stable ruling planet that would be perfect for an alliance.

"And why aren't you making Firebrand join in on this?" The femme seemed to be studying me intently when she asked me this. Strange. When they first walked in, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else. I would say she was in a rebellious stage, but something didn't fit that theory. I would have to have Seabreaker tell me more about her during our time together. "He shot you down, too. Shouldn't he have to give up his time like you are making Seabreaker do?

"Firebrand there has the personality of dirt," I shot at the femme for her reasoning, causing an offended huff to come out of said brother before I continued. "So I doubt I would get much of anything out of him showing me around. Unless you are volunteering to step in as a second guide, I don't know why you are concerning yourself about this."

"Wait, that's an option?" I flinched slightly as the youngest mech spoke up. I hadn't expected him to speak up like that, and I may have just spoken too soon. When I came in, he had been studying me. From the look he had kept in his glances, he almost looked like he was hiding desperation about something. What that something was, though, I wasn't sure of. However, there would only be one way to discover what that was.

Before I could respond to him, the femme helm-slapped the youngest mech before speaking. "This isn't the time for that Grinchain,"

"Don't ruin this for me, Lightbeam," Grinchain hissed back at her. I think they might have forgotten that I was here.

The femme, who I assumed was Lightbeam, let out a huff. "I almost forgot, you seem to like to jump into every dangerous thing you can get yourself into. That's especially when it involves"

The growl that escaped the mech, now identified as Grinchain, reminded me of how I would act when my dad's distant relatives would stop by and badger my mom about the fandoms I enjoyed along with my extra-curricular activities after…after dad died. I honestly felt myself connected to the mech in that instant, though whether I would keep that up or not would depend on how this entire situation went.

"Like you're one to talk, 'Beam, or are you going to tell those slagheaps you call friends,"

"Enough! Both of you!" Lord Dawnbreaker snapped at his two youngest. "We will discuss this later." He then turned to me. "Apologies for that, Pandimala. This is my only femme creation, Lightbeam," He motioned to the femme before he motioned to the mech. "And this is my youngest mech creation, Grinchain. They are twins and tend to bicker with each other often. Please pay them no heed."

That sounded like more than just sibling bickering. I had heard all the different siblings on the Nemesis bicker before, and it wasn't nearly that aggressive. I would have to keep that on the back burner for now. However, because Grinchain seemed so willing to talk to me, I was going to take the risk and add him to this guide time…if his creators approved. "Lord Dawnbreaker, if it is no trouble to you, I see no trouble in allowing Grinchain to switch on and off with his brother in being my guide. However, since he is being added on, I reserve the right to have him stop acting as my guide at any point."

"Very well, Pandimala," I could hear the mech aging as he answered me.

I couldn't blame him, though.

This family was breaking, and I knew that breakage would affect my Lord and the possible alliances that we might make moving forward. I had already decided to pursue an alliance with them for the Decepticons, but to do that I would have to work with them and get them ready. So far, they seemed like they would be easier to work with than the Autobots.

I mean, nobot could be that difficult.

Glancing up at Lord Dawnbreaker, I realized I needed to finish this meeting. That was especially as I started to feel an ache coming from my legs. I was going to have to get used to this recovery stuff. "This solar is not going to start it. We can start next solar. Have Seabreaker pick me up in the quarters that I will be staying in. I think I need to use this solar to recover a little longer. Is there anything else that we need to discuss?" I figured I would open the floor up to him just in case there was something else.

However, I guess I made enough of a statement with how these talks went for Dawnbreaker to simply shake his helm. "No, I don't see anything we need to speak on right now. I will have Seabreaker and Grinchain relay any questions that aren't important to you from me, and we can set up another meeting to discuss anything of greater importance. Please go and recover some more." He then motioned to the medic. "Physis, if you would escort her to her chambers and give her another checkup before she goes into recharge." He then turned to the two larger mechs. "Custov, Hazenspar; you two are dismissed. Physis will be fine escorting Pandimala."

Physis nodded and moved next to me. He, of course, knelt while I gave Lord Dawnbreaker the same nod I sent toward him in my introduction before the two of us left the room. Once the doors shut behind us and we made our way away, Physis glanced toward me. "That was unexpected. Just what is your angle?"

I glanced down at the medic and shook my helm. "Come now, doc, if I gave away all of my secrets, this wouldn't be nearly as entertaining and beneficial for all of us as it is going to be. Just let things be. I know what I am doing."

A huff came out of Physis at that. "What you are doing is creating a time bomb that will implode in your faceplate. And you don't even realize it. Seabreaker might not be the worst choice between the four of them, but Grinchain…and all four of them in general…aren't the easiest bots to get along with. Each for different reasons."

"Then tell me about them," I suggested as we walked. "Though I already have an idea about why two of them have issues." Firebrand was just a flying pile of scrap, and Lightbeam seemed like the type to purposefully talk to bots who were suspicious, given the argument I just got to witness between her and her twin

"I can't," The mech answered honestly. We then fell into silence as he led me to my quarters.

And while I understood where the mech was coming from, I was nervous about not having more information on them. While the other two were not yet a part of this guide program, I needed to be ready to interact with them whenever I might have to. Getting this family whole again would be the first step in making sure that they would be ready for an alliance with my Lord.

If he were here now, Lord Megatron would see the disunity in the family and immediately be hesitant about any sort of alliance. It was too similar to our disunity on Earth the few times it cropped up. Fix the family and any other problems that came up while I was here within reason, and then it would be simple for my Lord, or whoever he sent in his stead, to ally with Vestium Major, thus giving us an in with the Galactic Alliance.

And that would prepare us for any trouble Cybertron and the Autobots may give us in the future. I wasn't a fool. We needed allies, and quickly. This ceasefire would only last so long before we would either need to meet for peace or be dragged back into fighting. Having strong and influential allies was the first step both sides needed to take to help when that moment arrived. And having an alliance with leaders who were a part of the Galactic Alliance would be a great step.

Though, I was going to have to be on edge. With the situation that brought me here, enemies of Vestium Major would do anything and everything within their power to sway influence with me. And, since I had decided to put in the work to create an Alliance with Vestium Major, I would not allow others to hinder my newest goal. As I did for the peace talks, I would give every effort I could to make this work.

As we seemed to arrive at my room, I watched the medic punch in the door code so I would know it for later before I followed him inside. Given my size, the room was decently sized, and I also noticed that we were fairly close to the med bay I had been in for the past solars. "Thank you, Physis."

He gave me a nod back. "I'll return at nine hundred tomorrow for another check before you go about." He then started to give me a check-up as Lord Dawnbreaker told him to. "Just something to keep in processor femme," I glanced down at him as he scanned my legs. "Vestium Major is known for their specialization in training triple changers. Before the war on Cybertron, we trained many of their triple changers to control their snaps and learn about how to control their chassis. I feel you can do the second just fine in normal circumstances. However, based on the rate of recovery I am seeing, I would suggest you look into signing yourself up for those classes. They will help you recover your regular mobility once the medical healing is complete."

Triple changer training? And what the frag was a 'snap'? "I've never heard of a snap before, doc. What are they?"

At my question, his optics darted up to meet mine. For a nano, he continued to stare at me in shock. "Nevermind. That is no longer a recommendation. All triple changers should go through the program to learn their limits and thresholds for anger. I'm going to be making it mandatory for your recovery."

"I need to travel to Pyrovar as soon as possible, Physis. I don't have time to take these control classes. I don't need them." This was ridiculous. I could control myself just fine. I didn't need this specialty training. If I had needed it, Lord Megatron would have made sure that Blitzwing had given me that training.

However, he didn't seem to be backing down. "It is highly encouraged for triple-changers to take it. And a necessity if a group of bots who has one wishes to create any sort of alliance with a member planet of the Galactic Alliance. Vestium Major is the only planet within this space that is certified by the Alliance to give the training. So while you might not wish to do it now, you will have to if the Decepticons wish to ally with any Alliance planet later in time."

Frag it fine! I wasn't thrilled to do this. However, refusing now just to waste resources later on would be counterproductive, and my Lord would not be happy to hear that I delayed this if he decides to pursue an alliance later in time. "Fine."

His smirk after I gave in caused me to vent slightly. Just because I had to do these classes didn't mean I had to like them. "Glad we could see optic to optic on this. I'd say that you should be ready for the classes in about seven solars. Until then, focus on your recovery and try to keep any activities to a minimum if you can. Vestium Major has a lot to offer, and I'm sure that Grinchain and Seabreaker will show you what they can. Until next solar,"

"Until next solar," I responded before the medic left.

As I sat alone in this room, I realized that I needed to look into the closest allies of Vestium Major. If I wanted this alliance to go through, I needed to get as close as possible to Vestium Major's allies as well. From the little I looked up during my time in the med bay, the planets under Vestium Major were Ethos and Eternia. Each had its ruling system, and though each had a top-ranked leader like Vestium Major and the Decepticons, I knew each would have its differences. That was especially in the case of Eternia. While Ethos was a planet of children of Primus, Eternia was a planet ruled by organics. From what I understood, their embassy was a small town where their representatives and others who worked in the embassy lived.

And from other planets in the alliance, I would need to look into the close allies and the political opponents of Vestium Major. I needed to be as prepared as I could. So, I moved to the monitor in the room before starting to search. I was a strategist, and right now, I needed to plan my next moves for the benefit of my Lord.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

This solar was going to be interesting. When Physis came to do my morning checkup, he looked nervous, so I asked him what was wrong. At first, the medic was reluctant to answer me. And even once he did, that answer was sketchy. All Physis would tell me was that there was an incident last solar after he left me.

Since that made him nervous, something told me that the 'incident' somehow involved the royal family.

Perhaps Seabreaker could tell me more details while we were walking about? And if I couldn't get it out of him, Grinchain might be more communicative with me. I had thought more about the mech last night and realized that I could use whatever his goal was with me to get more information.

Until Seabreaker came, though, I was left with my thoughts. And one of those thoughts found me back to the information I found out from Physis the other solar. Snaps. I had never heard of them from the others, but that made sense, given the state we were in back then and how little I was actually on the ship. It also made me realize that I did have one before. Back when Thrust tried to convince me to betray Lord Megatron. I hadn't been aware of anything around me. My processor was focused on taking out Thrust, the threat before me. I hadn't even obeyed Lord Megatron during that outrage that I was in.

It was something that I did need to fix. I couldn't have one of those in the middle of a battle and disregard orders that Lord Megatron may give me. These snaps were a problem that I needed to have fixed. While I was upset with Physis before, I was glad he had strong-armed me into doing these lessons.

Of course, I would have to wait until I healed some more to start those. While the dark energon in my systems was expediting the healing process, my backplates and abdomen were still in pain if I moved too much in one direction or another. Hopefully, this tour I was going to get this solar would help with the remaining pain. Stretch it out a little.

A knock at my door signaled the arrival of Seabreaker, so I slowly stood before I moved to the door. However, when I opened the door, I was surprised that Grinchain was standing before me instead of Seabreaker. "I thought Seabreaker was the one who was supposed to escort me this solar?" I didn't like this change in schedule. For their sake, I hope they had a good reason to do so.

Grinchain, to his credit, looked a little nervous before he answered me. "He was supposed to. However, not long after you and the others left us the other solar, Firebrand and Seabreaker fought about what was happening with your punishments. I'm sure you can imagine how that argument went."

Yeah, Firebrand probably had his helm up his aft, and Seabreaker was most likely trying to get some reason into that thick helm of his. "I can imagine," I responded to the mech.

"Anyways, Seabreaker said something about Firebrand acting like a sparkling about all of this, and the two got into a…scuffle."

"A scuffle?" I pressed as the two of us started to move away from my room.

In return, the mech let out a vent. "Okay, more than a scuffle. Honestly, I haven't seen Seabreaker and Firebrand fight like that before. They did some decent damage to each other before sire and carrier could separate them. Physis judged that Seabreaker would be unable to escort you this solar. So, we hoped that you wouldn't mind if I filled in this solar instead."

I allowed silence to settle between the two of us for a little longer than I probably needed to before I responded. "Given the circumstances, I do not mind. Will Seabreaker be able to escort me next solar?"

The mech immediately nodded as we made our way outside. "Yeah. Physis just wanted him to have a solar to recover. 'Brand gave him a nice gash on his leg that Physis didn't want Seabreaker walking on. So…" We were outside at this point, and it was obvious that the mech wasn't sure where to go first.

"Do you all have any record halls?" I asked. In part, I was giving him an idea of where I might want to see first. However, I did want to know if there was somewhere that I could go to find out more information.

His optics lit up at my question, and I thought his helm would fly off from how fast he was nodding. "Oh yeah! Teklan Hall is chuck full of different records from all across the galaxy. It's this way." The excited way he answered told me that the mech liked to go there. Strange… I didn't peg the mech as the studying type. That was where I was betting Seabreaker liked to be more than Grinchain.

"I'm guessing you like to visit there?" I asked as we moved through the streets. It didn't escape my notice that there were a lot of optics that kept staring as we walked past. Of course, I wasn't sure whether they were at Grinchain or me. It could be both of us. Outside of the guard, I could see following us out of the corner of my optic; there could be many reasons for them to be staring.

No, I wasn't an idiot. I figured that there would be somebot following us during these outings. I was a stranger on their planet who was staying close to their royalty. I would be concerned about their security if they weren't following us. Well, even more concerned. The mech following us seemed to be unintentionally losing us every few clicks. I'd have to ask somebot about that later.

"When I'm not training," I paid attention as Grinchain answered. "I honestly spend more time here than I do at the castle. We have some information there, but everything here is current on recent galactic events, and I don't want to miss anything on…." I glanced at him as he drifted off for the first time since we started talking. What was that about? What topic could he be studying that made him nervous about answering? Before I could ask him about it, he motioned in front of us. "Here we are. Teklan Hall!"

I glanced up and was impressed with the building in front of me. Easily four stories tall and two blocks long, the building reminded me of a Cybertronian-sized schoolhouse. Of course, from the various entries I saw around, the building welcomed all types of beings, large and small. Vestium Major was a planet that perfectly balanced organic and mechano life. The way the beings around us were exiting and entering the building meant that this was a system they were used to.

"It's amazing," I said, giving my honest opinion of the building before I motioned toward the doors. "Would we be able to take a look inside?"

"Yeah, let's go!" He answered excitedly before taking my servo and pulling me forward. It was kinda adorable. I was sure he didn't even realize he had grabbed my servo, and I wouldn't stop him. This was the most casual I had been treated since I got here, and I didn't want to let it go. While I was working on diplomatic goals, I wasn't a diplomat. I was Pandimala, Decepticon and strategist. And I was just a regular bot. I didn't realize how stiff I was acting until now. No wonder the royal family looked nervous at everything I did. While they needed to be worried, it didn't need to be to the extent that I had seen before.

Once inside, I smiled in wonder at the records surrounding me. Seriously, I was having a Beauty and the Beast moment right now. While these weren't books, the data files that filled the shelves on each floor seemed to stretch out forever, though I knew it wasn't quite that far.

"Grinchain, are you supposed to be in here?"

I glanced to my side to see a young mech with some sort of aquatic mode…maybe a mini-sub, standing behind an information desk. As strange as it seemed, I didn't think the mech was even registering that I was here. Guess Grinchain came in often enough that they knew him pretty well.

Grinchain, in return, glanced at the mech and smiled. "Our restriction has been lifted, Saboal. I'm here showing Pandimala around as her guide."

At that point, this Saboal realized that Grinchain wasn't alone. The way his optics almost comically widened was hilarious in itself. Well, he wasn't supposed to be that aware…I guess. "Oh…um…hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Saboal, and I work as a data clerk here."

"And I'm Pandimala. Nice to meet you as well," I responded before I shook his outstretched servo. When I let it go, I had to resist the urge to shake my helm when he looked surprised to get it back. Seriously, did Decepticons have that bad of a reputation?

After a click, Saboal turned back to Grinchain. "I didn't realize you were a guide and already set up your normal room with your usual materials. There have been a few updates since you were last here. Might as well show her the study rooms while you are here."

The slightly panicked look that came to Grinchain's faceplate reminded me of how he seemed to drift off earlier. "What…Saboal, I'm not sure if," However, Saboal had already disappeared before Grinchian could finish that sentence. Grinchain looked extremely nervous about whatever might be in his study room. Something told me that these two situations were connected.

And if I was going to find out what was up with Grinchain, I needed to strike now. "I think seeing a study room would be nice. While we head there, you can explain how to rent one. I can see me spending a lot of time here when I am not recovering."

Now, the poor mech looked caught. While I felt a little guilty about doing this to the mech, I wanted to know what Grinchain was hiding. This might also explain why he seemed excited about participating in the guide program. "I…I…" It looked like Grinchain would split in two before he let out a vent. "Fine. Just…don't jump to conclusions when we get there."

He was telling me not to jump to conclusions? I'm pretty sure that I was only stuck on this planet because his brothers had jumped to conclusions about me. "Promise," I felt it was safe to promise this as we moved to where I assumed his study room was.

Of course, he didn't look any better off about my promise. Just what was this mech's deal? I didn't sense any malice from him, and I didn't see him as a mech who would have lewd pictures in a fragging study room. So, I wasn't going to care what he had in here. Frag, if we opened the door to some magical fairy bleeding rainbows, I wouldn't mind. Curious? Yes. I would be fragging curious about Grinchain if that was what I found. But I wouldn't jump to conclusions.

I had enough of that when I was growing up.

Many of my dad's relatives always assumed that I would be some hooker on the streets by the time I was sixteen. Instead, I was employed at small jobs and maintained excellent grades in school and extracurricular activities. Just because I wasn't falling into some cheerleader airheaded bimbo life that they envisioned for me, that didn't make me set to failure. My dad's one cousin, the few times we saw him, always said I would amount to nothing.

Of course, he was the one in the state prison when I left.

I focused back on the present when Grinchian quickly opened the door in front of us and moved inside and out of the doorway. Guess he was taking the 'rip the bandaid off' approach to this. Get it over with and whatever pain may be. But, I didn't see what was so embarrassing that he had acted…so…

…Oh.

Honestly, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. I just found myself in shock as I looked at the datapads closer. The Start of the Cybertronian Civil War. The Fall of the Golden Age of Cybertron. A History of the Decepticons. I had read copies of them that Shockwave kept in his subspace, and they were great reads to get a fair accounting of the war. Well, as honest as one could get. And those were just a few of the data pads I saw. There were also many field reports and articles about more recent activities in our war.

Now I saw why he might be embarrassed. But he didn't need to be. I wished more beings looked into our war before making unfounded conclusions. From how Saboal talked, this was the main topic Grinchain asked for when he came in. And since Grinchain came in frequently, I would assume he was a fan of studying our war. Things about Grinchian were finally making sense.

"I…I know it might be a little weird. But I think it is interesting how events happened to start the war, and all of the information we keep getting about the war is just amazing!" Grinchian started to ramble. "I mean, for the Decepticons to create such a powerful force behind themselves even to stand a chance against the Council on Cybertron, let alone the number of supporters the Council drew in. It's amazing to look through all of your history!"

As the mech started to ramble about the research that he was doing, I couldn't help but smile. Frag, the mech reminded me of when I was back in my old dimension—writing my stories because I was fascinated with them. Doing the research that I did, mom had to think that I was just a little crazy. She might not have been wrong, but she was supportive. A new almanac came out? She drove me to the local gaming store to make sure I was first in line. Convention being held over the summer? Mom saved up the money to take us both there. She made sure that I could access whatever I might want.

I internally flinched at thoughts of my mom. I knew she didn't remember me due to my agreement with Primus, but frag I missed her at times. That fragger Paul better not have gone back on our deal, or there would be Pit to pay.

When the mech mentioned Earth, I realized I needed him to resay that part. "What was that about Earth?" Hopefully, he didn't think I completely zoned him out. I heard most of it, but thinking of mom made me miss what he was starting to say about the planet.

"Earth! I hadn't heard about the planet until about a stellar ago when I started to get reports, and even now, I still don't know exactly where it is. But that doesn't matter. What's important is that it has been a major focal point in your fighting for the past stellar up until those peace talks that we all saw." Wait…they all saw the peace talks? It was a miracle that they hadn't recognized me. Of course, I did look pretty different from when I did…back then. "But both your leader and the leader of the Autobots have been there fighting for the past stellar, and then, suddenly, there are rumors of peace talks floating about. I didn't believe it at first because the war has been going on for so long, and I felt we would have had more notice about the chance of peace. But frag, something must have happened there to get things moving."

"Right," I felt a wave of melancholy wash over me at the reminder of the peace talks and our hope for them. We had worked so hard…so fragging hard to get to the table, and Paul and those three Autobots had fragging ruined it! We had been so close. So close. "Things changed there."

"Wait…were you there?" He asked. Panic gripped my spark when Grinchain asked that. I wouldn't lie to the mech, but I wasn't ready to talk about what happened on Earth with others outside the Decepticons. "Never mind, you couldn't have been. Those who were part of the fight on Earth were the first to arrive on your new homeworld, Pyrovar." I felt relief when he made his deduction about that. It would buy me some time to figure out this mess later.

"I knew bots who served there, though, and I got reports about some of what happened." It was a stretch, but I wasn't lying. Hopefully, this would keep the mech happy without him pushing me too much for the information. "If you want, I can try to answer some questions for you."

His faceplate seemed to freeze at my suggestion, making me think I had broken the mech for a nano. Well, that was until the mech shuttered his optics briefly before speaking. "You would answer my questions? Honestly?"

I did not like the doubt behind his questions, though at least it was mixed in hope. "I just said I would answer what I could. Do bots not usually talk to you when they visit?" This would be something I could report back to my Lord. While not all information should be shared, especially with the royalty of another planet, we shouldn't refuse to answer general questions, no matter their background. It made it look like we had something to hide. And while every ruler had their secrets, Not everything we did was secret.

Grinchain looked hesitant at my question and sat down, so I followed suit before he spoke. "Normally, once bots find out that I am royalty, they just try and use me to get in with my creators. But, when I ask them about anything outside of what they want to talk about, they mute themselves. Autobot, Decepticon, Neutral; all of them would do the same. I started to avoid introducing myself to bots so they would talk to me like a bot instead of some delicate piece of glass. But then, my guards would usually find me before I could talk to those bots, and they would avoid me like cosmic rust."

That…honestly explained his upset look when I first walked into that meeting the other solar. I thought he was upset at meeting with me. But that thought had changed as his facial expression slowly faded from that as the meeting continued. That explained why he was so excited about the opportunity to be one of my guides. He was introduced to me, so I knew he was royalty. He probably thought his chance to talk to me was shot and saw the guide opportunity as a chance to speak to me a little.

So many different bots had come through here, and each one had pushed the mech away when there wasn't a reason to. Yes, he was royalty, and a bot should watch what they say to them, but that didn't mean we had to treat the bot as if he was going to break at a single wrong word.

And I'm sure Grinchain understood that given the almost obsession he seemed to have in our war. While the mech seemed to have a slight problem with his awareness of what was around him, he wasn't completely clueless. No, he just wanted to share his passion and learn more about it with those around him. Knowledge is not only power, but it helps lead to wisdom. His interest in the war would give him a chance to understand our struggle and maybe use that in his future dealings with other planets…or ourselves.

"Well," I spoke up while getting more comfortable in my seat. "I'm not most bots. I can't promise you all the answers you might want, but I have nothing planned for the solar. And from my recovery rate, I'll have plenty of time to see other sites around the planet. We can talk for as long as you want. With one condition," He froze up as I stated that last part. However, I was a Decepticon, and I needed to get something out of this, even if it was small. "I get to ask you questions for every one you ask me. No guarantees on answers, obviously, but I think that will keep this time of discovery growing between us. Are we in agreement?" I held out my servo toward him.

While he looked relieved, I felt even better about this when he seemed to think about my deal before he took my servo in his. "Deal, but I get to start." I nodded in acquiescence to that before he started. "So, what kind of world is this Earth?"

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

I was still in shock as Pandimala, and I left the hall and headed toward the only other stop we had time for. We had been in there for eight cycles! Of course, the whole time wasn't filled with asking and answering questions. But we took breaks and worked on our research. She had pulled files on Ethos and Eternia while I dug into some of the newer aspects of the war that we were waiting on updates for. We would ask each other questions while we were studying, especially if we had questions about what we were studying, and I had a great time. As she had said, there were questions that we each asked that the other couldn't answer, but we moved past those easily.

Despite only knowing of the femme for a few solars and only really talking with her during this solar, she was the closest friend outside of my family that I had…and kind of in my family compared to Firebrand. While it hurt to think about that, it was also pretty nice—somebot outside my family who didn't consider my royalty my only characteristic. And not only that, but she didn't let me be right for that same reason. We debated about different aspects of both of our study topics, and it made me feel like a regular bot.

"Thanks again for that Grinchain," I glanced up at the femme as we moved toward the training grounds, the last stop she wanted to see before we returned to the palace. Since she was in recovery, she admitted that she couldn't do much for a few solars, and I got that. Now the only thing I was bummed at was that I would have to switch off with Seabreaker for this. "Once I've seen what I wish to see on these tours, along with anything you all think I need to see, I'd love to have another study session with you."

"That was a lot of fun. I'd,"

"Well, if it isn't the royal data nerd?"

We both stopped, and I cringed at the familiar vocals. While visitors to the planet usually kept me at servo length, bots my age here weren't quite as distant…and not in a good way. Looking to my left, I felt a weight of dread on my spark when I saw Dinar, Phila, and Peckil walking up to me. Oh great. And this solar was going so well, too.

Those three fell under a different category of interactions around me. I wasn't exactly…popular with bots my age here on Vestium Major. Most bots were outgoing and liked to move around during the solar. While I didn't mind that, I preferred to be in the hall just studying if I could. That didn't make me too popular, and I picked on for it. And that usually got physical. Since I wasn't the most active bot out there, that usually led to visits to Physis with no questions asked on his part.

What made this worse was that I was showing Pandimala around. While she and I got along great when doing research, I also knew she was a pretty active bot, given the beating she took from my brothers. What would she think about me when she found out I couldn't fight off a bully? Decepticons were known for valuing strength, and that was a department that I lacked in.

Well, it was nice having her as a friend while it lasted. I might as well get this show over with. "Dinar, Phila, Peckil;"

Peckil, who spoke first and acted as their ringleader of sorts, scoffed at me. "Fight off any shrike bats in those datapads of yours? How about some cyber-wolves? You had to gain something wasting away in that hall all solar."

I knew it was pointless to respond to them. Let them say their say, and then they would rough me up a little. There wasn't any point in saying, "Actually, Grinchain was just showing me all the different mold that grows around here." I jumped when Pandimala spoke up. "Glad to see the pictures match the mold."

I about backfired in shock as the femme said that. What the frag was Pandimala doing? I knew Decepticons were confrontational, but I figured she would let our fight play out to see who she supported. "You don't," I tried to tell her she shouldn't get involved.

However, Peckil just caught on to what she said. "I don't think I heard you glitch; want to say that again?"

Before I could tell Pandimala to back down, she looked down at them with a smirk. "I said I'm glad to see the pictures matched the mold. Don't want that anywhere near my systems." I shivered at the challenging look in her optics. "Do I need to repeat it? Or did that microscopic processor of yours finally catch on?"

Everybot on the street had stopped to watch what was going on. Honestly, I was worried about how this would make Pandimala look. Decepticons weren't well-liked, and this might not help her time here. Getting her out of this as quickly as possible would be best. "Come on, they're not worth it," I tried to whisper to her to get her to leave.

However, Dinar must have heard me. "Not worth it? I think the only waste of space around here is you and your pleasurebot." I felt my spark start to race as he glanced toward Pandimala. "Is that what gets you going? Limp and nerdy?"

A slight growl slipped out of my vocals when he said that. I didn't care that they were making fun of me, but Pandimala was a guest and should not have to listen to this. "If that's your autobiography, then I think I'll pass. I'm already being courted, but I don't stand by and let lowlife barnacles try and latch onto my friends. Do yourselves a favor and get lost. Doc said to take it easy for the solar, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind me stretching a bit, sparring you three."

I'm sure Physis would have much to say about her fighting those three. "Is that a threat, femme?" Phila shot back at Pandimala.

Instead of looking worried, Pandimala simply raised an optic ridge. "For that to have been a threat, I would need a threat to be nearby."

"Sire, I got into trouble with Dinar, Phila, and Peckil again. But Pandimala is jumping in, and it might turn into a fight. What should I do?" While calling sire felt weird, this situation could quickly turn nasty if it wasn't handled right. Sire's advice on all of this would be helpful.

As the three across from us seemed to be trying to answer Pandimala's retort, sire got back to me. "I'm sending Scorchflint and Sandstorm to your coordinates. Stay calm and keep a fight from breaking out until they arrive. Physis will be coming as well."

That was a relief. Of course, I didn't know how much longer backup would be, and while Pandimala looked calm, the other three looked anything but. "Odds aren't exactly in your favor, femme. You might look sturdy, but you are just some data nerd like that one behind you. Three-on-one odds won't end well for you." Slag Dinar didn't have a clue who he was messing with.

Pandimala looked like she had just heard a bad joke. "You're serious?" She then made a show of looking between the three of them. "You are. Three brats with no discipline think they will be a problem for me? I've dealt with worse in my recharge."

That caused all three of them to look offended. When Dinar stepped forward, I knew I needed to jump in. "And it isn't just Pandimala here either. I'm sure I could keep one of you busy enough for a Decepticon to take you down a few pegs."

They stepped back and did a double take at my word that she was a Decepticon. Yeah, that's what I figured would happen. While the Decepticons' reputation was entirely unfair for some of them, it did help in cases like this. Crossing a Decepticon was not something a bot did lightly.

"Hey Peckil, I've heard stories," Phila whispered loudly as she kept an optic on Pandimala. "Took a hit from the defense system and survived."

"This isn't that Decepticon," Peckil growled back. "Do you think a bot who took a hit from the defense system would be up walking around right now? Not only that but even if it were that same bot, they wouldn't be seen online with a weak nobot like Grinchain."

Before either Pandimala or I could say anything, backup arrived in the form of the bots sire said he was sending. "What's going on here?" Scorchflint asked as he looked between all of us.

Pandimala was quick on the uptake and immediately answered. "Grinchain and I were on our way to the training grounds when these three decided to come and harass us."

"You were what!?" I flinched when Physis asked that. Before we could respond, he marched down and glared at Pandimala. "I have not just spent the last solars fixing your chassis so that you could go and tear it apart before you should. You know I want you on rest and recovery for at least four more solars before you even think about doing training. I should go reformat you into a side table!"

As Pandimala raised her servos, I noticed the worried looks on the other three. Guess they realized that Pandimala was the Decepticon that was shot down. "I swear we weren't going there to train. I figured I should know where it is before I am cleared. That way, I won't be late for those lessons you are making me go to."

Physis hesitated as he studied here. "You weren't going to train?"

She shook her helm. "No." I flinched when she glared at Dinar, Phila, and Peckil. "However, with how those three were speaking to us, I was about to use them in a stretching routine to help with my recovery."

I could see the torn look on Physis' faceplate before he glared at the three. "You three. Apologize now. Then make yourselves scarce."

"I will inform your instructors about this incident," Scorchflint added sternly.

"Sorry!" the three of them quickly got out before they transformed and hightailed it away.

Looking back at the others, I noticed that Pandimala and Sandstorm were studying each other. What was going on? "So, you're the new triple changer Physis added to my roster." The triple changer trainer finally spoke. "The designation's Sandstorm, and if you hold yourself together that well during our training, you should breeze right through it. Before training, most bots of our frame would have already been snapping their arms off for offending them."

Pandimala smirked at that. "Glad I could impress. I assume you came to wrangle me if things were out of servo."

"Exactly." I was surprised by how blunt the two were with each other. I definitely wouldn't have phrased it like that. "Since things are well here, I will be returning to my notes. I shall see you in four solars' time, femme." He then transformed before flying off.

"I'll give a report to your sire about what went on here, Grinchain. You may be needed for your memories." Scorchflint stated before he turned to Pandimala. "Would you be willing to show your memories as well?"

For the first time, Pandimala looked nervous about something. Why though? Decepticons had a patch system…and honestly, theirs was more in-depth than ours was. Why would she be worried about that? "Only on the promise that you will only view the events from this solar." I guess she didn't want bots to take advantage of her memories from the past. "Oh, and if Physis clears it."

Scorchflint nodded at that. "Reasonable enough. Physis, care to join me?"

The medic nodded, and the two officials went on their way. After a few nanos, I glanced up at Pandimala. "Um…thanks…but why?"

To my confusion, she looked confused. "What do you mean? And you're welcome."

"I mean…why'd you help me? I'm not exactly the go-getter type of bot…and that means I'm not as physically active as most bots are. So why bother helping me?" I didn't like how I phrased it, but that was the only way I could. I still didn't understand why she would help me. I wasn't…I wasn't used to this type of interaction with bots.

She looked at me in shock for a nano. "Why'd I…did you just ask me why I helped you?"

Something told me I messed up. "I mean, yeah. Don't Decepticons look for bots who are active and physical?" I couldn't stop the words from coming out of my vocals. "I'd rather be holed up in the hall any solar of the stellar than have to train and train constantly! Can't I just be me? Can't I,"

I flinched when I suddenly felt arms wrap around me. Looking at the bot holding me, I felt confused when I saw Pandimala standing there. What was she doing? "I didn't take you for a bot who listened to stereotypes, Grinchain." As she continued to hug me, I felt her laugh. "Decepticons don't only look for how active or physical a bot is. While we expect a fellow Decepticon to be able to hold their own on the battlefield, a sharp processor is just as valuable. I'd even go so far as to say we would rather have a bot who can use their processor than not. There is nothing wrong in being you."

My entire chassis tensed as I heard her words. I had never felt like it was okay to be me. Never. "But I,"

"But nothing," She interrupted me. "While I don't think it is healthy for you to spend your entire time holed up with your research, researching in itself is not a bad quality to have. Some of the most fearsome and talented Decepticons I know were also some of the most intellectual. When I was…at my last station, I started to see the very same problem you are having with our intelligence bots. They isolated themselves from others and didn't try to connect with others. I think you tried once but had a bad experience."

How could she know that? "How…how do you know that?" I thought I had a friend once. But they left me behind once they found out I didn't always like to be outside training.

"You'd be surprised by how similar you are to some of the greatest processors the Decepticons have ever seen. Balancing your research, projects, and other studying with interacting with bots around you is vital to information gathering. You never know who might hold the key you are missing to what you are working on. I might not be online this very solar." She then stepped back, which caused me to look up at her. She had a slight smile on her faceplate as she spoke. "How about we make a deal?"

A deal. That sounded just like the sort of thing a stereotypical Decepticon would say. "What kind of deal?"

She let out a laugh. "Good, you can think. I was afraid you were broken for a nano." She then motioned to me. "Once you and your brother show me the main areas of interest here on Vestium Major, you and I will spend our guide solars split. We study and research to our sparks' content for the first part, and then I help you train for the second. I have worked with intelligence-centered bots who had ways of training without overexerting themselves. This way, you don't have to worry about being in that situation again." Pandimala then placed a servo on my shoulder. "Plus, things are always easier when you aren't doing them alone."

While I wasn't a fan of constant training, I knew I needed to train. But most bots I met wanted to train all solar long, and I couldn't do that. What Pandimala was offering…sounded nice. "That would be great. Thanks, Pandimala." At that point, I noticed her legs would shake every few clicks. They must be causing her pain. "But, let's get you back to your room. I'm sure Physis would tear us both new ones if he found out you overexerted yourself."

Pandimala, surprisingly, pouted a little at that before she let out a vent. "I guess you're right. While it was great to spend time with you this solar, I expect your brother to pick me up at the same time next solar. Alright?"

Yeah, I knew. Technically, this was a part of his punishment for what happened to her. "Yeah, okay."

As we returned to her room, she nudged me a little. "Maybe you could spend some time training? Are there any personal training sessions you can start with?"

…There were a few I knew of. I'd have to call them as soon as I dropped her off. While I wasn't thrilled at the idea of training, seeing how Pandimala held herself, even being in recovery, made me want to try. It was apparent during the solar that she liked researching things as much as I did, yet she found ways to train herself and still had time for that. So, I could probably do the same. "Yeah, I know a couple," I answered her honestly.

"Good," she said with a smile. "Then you can tell me all about it during our next guide session." We stayed quiet for the rest of the trip back to her room. Once we were there, and she opened her door, she turned back to me. "Good night cycle, Grinchain."

"Good night cycle, Pandimala," I replied before leaving her. Well, better get those calls in. So, I connected to one trainer I talked to about a stellar ago during the Advancement Fair.

"This is Skylark of SSS Training and Mentoring. Who is this?"

"Skylark, this is Grinchain. We talked about a stellar ago at the Advancement Fair about possible training I could take. I know it's been a while, but is the offer still open?"

"Grinchain? I'll be honest: I didn't expect to hear from you. But, if you are serious about training, you can come to my training facility at eight tomorrow morning, and we can work out a plan that fits your schedule."

That sounded perfect. "I'll be there, Skylark. And thank you."

Chapter Text

Seabreaker's 1st P.O.V.

I was going to be alright. Steady intakes. Everything was okay. I would be online by the end of the solar. Grinchain had survived his first guide session with Panidmala; there was no reason to think I couldn't do the same.

Except he didn't almost offline her when they met.

I shook out those thoughts from my processor as I walked down the corridors toward said Decepticon's room. This was going to be okay. I just had to keep having positive thoughts. That was it. Positive thoughts to get me through this. She didn't seem as angry by the end of that talk with my creators as she was initially. I just had to be honest with her, like I was during my apology. She seemed to appreciate that. Yeah. I could do that.

My energon went cold as I stared at the femme's door. Nope. I couldn't do this. Maybe I could go and get into another fight with Firebrand? Get set back another solar. While Grinchain had training this morning, I'm sure that carrier and sire would find somebot else to show her around.

"You okay there?"

I about jumped out of my plating when Pandimala's voice suddenly came out of nowhere. Focusing on the door that was now open, I gulped slightly when I saw that she was standing there. How didn't I notice her open the door? Frag, she could offline me, and I wouldn't have a clue.

It was then that I realized that I didn't answer the femme. "Ye…Yeah, I'm fine," I got out before motioning toward the exit. "You ready to go?" Thankfully, I had that extra solar to think of some places to go. Grinchain had also sent me the two places they had seen, though they had only gone into Teklan Hall.

"Sounds like a plan. Do you have somewhere in processor to start?" She asked as I started to lead us.

Nodding, I brought out a letter sire wanted to be delivered to the Ethosian Embassy. "Sire asked if I could drop this off for Lord Oryax at the Ethosian Embassy. While we can't tour the embassy, I figured you would like to see the place. Then, I thought we could go to the Marina Market. Many local and visiting vendors gather there during the mid-solar and sell their wares to locals and visitors. They are well placed between the two embassies. After that, we can see if we can't try visiting the Eternia Embassy, though that might depend on what you want to do with that. Lastly, if we have time, I wanted to show you some of the walking trails that bots use. Grin mentioned earlier that you might like that."

When she looked confused, I tensed. What did I mess up on? "What do you mean about the Eternia Embassy? Is there some special way to visit them?"

Oh, that was right. She hadn't been here before. She wouldn't know about the challenge they gave to bots who visited. "The labac, the leading race on Eternia, have a challenge that we mechano-based beings can try once every thirty solars. Since we have soliforms, they challenge us to see how long we can mingle among them unnoticed. It doesn't matter what species we try to hide as, as long as we are near within two meters of their height. They consider it training for their people to see if they can spot us hiding. But, no bot lasts more than two solars. Since we can't eat or sleep, that usually gives us away."

A shiver traveled down my backplates at the smirk that came to Pandimala's faceplate. What the frag was that for? "Two solars, huh? We should save that embassy when I have more time to stay there. I think I can manage at least two solars."

While I was hesitant to do so, I had to doubt the femme. Decepticons weren't exactly known for blending in with their soliforms. Honestly, they were some of the worst ones at the challenge. Sunstorm tried when he was visiting and only managed to last two cycles before he was called out. And that was about average for Decepticons. I think the one that lasted the longest was the one called Skywarp when he visited and set the record for two solars. But, the next closest to him after that was his brother Thundercracker, who lasted three cycles.

Drove the labac crazy that Skywarp was able to hide for that long. A Decepticon could do a lot of damage in two solars. The fact that Skywarp was known as one of the more unstable bots made that even more terrifying.

After that, the conversation fell silent as I led the way to our first stop. The Ethosian Embassy. I wasn't sure how this would go. While I was taking her there because I had to deliver this message to Lord Oryax, I knew that the femme would eventually want to go there. In ancient history, Ethos had been a colony planet of Cybertron. They broke away from Cybertron long before the troubling history Cybertron had now started to come to be. However, when trouble began to arise from Cybertron, Ethos turned to us and offered to be a subsidiary planet of Vestium Major. Of course, that was on condition that they maintain their sovereignty. My grandsire, of course, agreed to this as his first decision as Lord.

The Alliance was gaining notoriety then, and my grandsire knew we needed allies. Not many, but we needed various allies to become a balanced force in the Alliance. So, Ethos became our first ally. And since that solar, the leaders from both sides were close to each other. While I did not open the note from sire to Lord Oryax, I suspected sire was filling the mech in on our current situation with Pandimala. Now that we had met with her, and she had her first outing with Grinchain, the other solar, sire should have gotten the information he needed to update our allies. I didn't doubt that he had a separate messenger heading toward Emperor Thav at the Eternia Embassy as we spoke with an almost identical message to mine.

"You alright there?" I jumped and turned to see Pandimala staring at me with a concerned look. "You looked lost in thought, and while I appreciate that, I was curious about the decorations going up. What are they for?"

Shaking my helm to get back in focus, I looked around and realized that we were in Caribate Square. As the central meeting place in Tocania, Caribate Square hosted many events throughout the stellar, and this was one of the largest ones we hosted. "We are getting ready for the Advancement Fair." At her blank look, I realized I would have to explain a little more. "The Advancement Fair is a large celebration of innovation and culture that we hold once a stellar. Representatives from Vestium Major and other planets across the cosmos gather here on Vestium Major to show their latest works in multiple fields."

Thankfully, the femme got what I was saying. "Okay, and then they share their cultures and advancements. I've been to similar celebrations on…before." That was weird. Why wouldn't she share where she went to these celebrations?

Shooting her down probably didn't help.

No. No negative thoughts. I had to keep focused. "There are going to be a lot of visitors arriving on Vestium Major over the next few solars," I explained to Pandimala. "So we might have trouble getting around downtown later on. Let me know if you see somewhere you want to visit so we can get to it this solar."

She smiled and nodded. "Will do, but I think where you picked out will be just fine."

As we made our way through the crowd, I felt relief. So far, I haven't screwed this up yet. That was a huge relief off my wings that I didn't think I would have. I still didn't know how I got through our initial talk, but getting through this solar would be even more challenging. I didn't have sire, carrier, or any of my siblings. I had myself. That was it. Glancing to where the guard that should have been following me was supposed to be, I let out a small vent when I realized he wasn't there. Honestly, our guards kind of sucked at their job. Pandimala wasn't even trying to do anything yet, but they couldn't keep up with us through the crowds.

And it explained how Lightbeam kept getting away from them.

Catching a silvery glint in my vision, I focused again and saw we had arrived. While Ethos and Cybertron hadn't had connections for billions of stellars, they still had that same fascination with silver that Cybertronians had in their construction. At least bots on Ethos were more humble about how they used it than Cybertron was. Or at least how it was before their civil war. "We're here—the Ethosian Embassy."

When Pandimala simply raised an optic ridge, I felt nervous again. Just what was she thinking? "Shiny."

That was it? That was all she had to say about the embassy? However, I wasn't going to question her about it out loud. "Let's get through the security check so we can make sure we get as much done as we can." Slag, was that too demanding? Decepticons, from what I knew, didn't like to take orders from others. She might take that as an order!

"Do they share what they learn about you from their scans?" Pandimala asked as we entered the queue.

Shaking my helm, I motioned to one of the machines they used to scan bots. "No. They will keep a record for their files but take oaths not to reveal what scans might pick up." Why was she asking this? Did she have some super weapon built into her that would set off security? I didn't even think to ask her that, and I was just put into a separate line from Pandimala, so I couldn't keep talking without causing a disruption. And that would only serve to upset bots in line. No. I just needed to remember that if she visited any other embassy.

Pandimala's line was moving faster than mine, so there were a few bots ahead of me when it was her turn. So, I watched as she walked into the machine. It was easy to see that some bots were tense as the machine started its scan. I had a feeling that those bots had already guessed that she was the Decepticon that was here on the planet.

That I got shot down.

When a confused look appeared on the security officer with her, I started to panic. Oh, slag, please don't be something dangerous. Please! As I began to walk into my machine, I felt even more panicked when I saw a medic going over to Pandimala's station.

Slag.

Thankfully, my scan didn't take long, and I was soon motioned inside. Once I was, I turned and was about to go to Pandimala's line. However, I was surprised to see her walking over to me. What the frag was that about? I wanted to ask her, but I just motioned to the main reception desk because I was on thin steps with her. A strange look flashed across her face before she nodded and motioned for me to take the lead.

It didn't take us long to walk over, and once we stopped, the mech behind the desk looked up. "Prince Seabreaker. Do you have an appointment?"

I shook my helm. "No. I have a message from Lord Dawnbreaker that he wishes delivered to Lord Oryax as soon as possible."

"You have good timing," I about jumped out of my plating when Lord Oryax's voice came from beside me. "I was just about to leave with Ambassador Credax to see the preparations for the Advancement Fair." When did he get here? I had assumed I would deliver this note so the bots here could send it back to Ethos. I didn't realize that Lord Oryax was here.

Did sire summon them?

I could ask sire about that during my debriefing about this solar. For now, I handed out the message while I bowed. "Lord Oryax, a message from my sire." Once he took the note from me, I rose and was about to ask to be excused when I noticed that Lord Oryax was studying Pandimala, and she was studying him. Slag! I needed to introduce them to each other. "Lord Oryax, this is Pandimala. She is a Decepticon who is a guest of my sire's."

When Pandimala raised an optic ridge at my description of her, I worried. Did she want me to say exactly how she became my sire's guest? Or should I have used a different introduction for her?

"A guest of Lord Dawnbreaker's? In that case, it is a pleasure to meet you, Pandimala." Lord Oryax greeted the femme.

It took my processor a nano to remember how she greeted sire when she first met him to realize that she might not properly greet Lord Oryax. "I'm sure that note you were just given will explain my presence here." She then tilted her helm slightly toward Lord Oryax. Slag! She used the same way she greeted sire to greet Lord Oryax! If we got out of this without Pandimala ending up in a holding cell, I would thank Iussa from now until the nano my spark stopped pulsing. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lord Oryax.

I was on edge as Lord Oryax raised an optic ridge at her. "Quite the unusual greeting, femme. Is it one you use often?"

My spark felt like it would stop right now when Pandimala raised an optic ridge and smirked. "Outside of Lord Megatron, I see no being as higher than myself. Unless they prove themselves less, I will always view any being as my equal."

No bot moved after she finished her response. What was going to happen? Also, with how she answered him, it made me think. How did she view me? Since I was partially responsible for her getting shot down, I felt I was pretty low-ranking in her optics.

"Just like I would expect any self-respecting Decepticon to respond!" We all jumped as Lord Oryax said that with a laugh. "If you have the time, I would like to meet with you."

Surprisingly, that threw Pandimala off. She stared at Lord Oryax for a few nanos before she seemed to pull herself together. "We may have to use a proxy to set up that meeting. I am to start training once I recover a bit more. However, I would be glad to meet with you."

Lord Oryax grinned at that. "I'll make arrangements through Lord Dawnbreaker and the medic in charge of you." I was surprised when the Lord didn't ask Pandimala why she was in recovery. Of course, I knew he would find out in the note sire sent for him, but it was obvious that Pandimala and Lord Oryax were hitting a friendship off quickly. I wasn't sure how it happened, but I wouldn't complain.

"Physis would appreciate that," Pandimala responded. When Lord Oryax's optics widened at the name of her medic, I noticed Pandimala smirk a little. She was trying to get a reaction out of him? "For now, though, I think Seabreaker and I have taken enough of your time for the solar. Plus, he promised to show me Marina Market and a femme can't say no to a shopping trip."

"Then I hope the next time we meet will be as fortuitous as this one," Lord Oryax agreed before turning to me. "Thank you for getting me this, Seabreaker. Go and enjoy your solar." And with that, Lord Oryax and Ambassador Credax left.

Since everybot still seemed shocked about that crazy exchange, I motioned for Pandimala to follow me to the exit. Thank Iussa that she did. Once we were outside and headed toward the market, I glanced up at Pandimala and saw that she was deep in thought. What could she be thinking about? Was she worried? Should I ask if she was alright? No. We weren't close enough for that.

Thankfully, the city transport had a stop at the marina, so what would have been a cycle walk only ended up being a five-click ride. And even better, Pandimala seemed to be in her thoughts so I could take the ride peacefully. Even now, as we walked toward the market, Pandimala was thinking. Maybe I should have been more worried. What could she be thinking about that had her that distracted? "Um…Pandimala, we're here."

She shook her helm at my voice before glancing at the open-air market. "Wow, this place looks amazing! Come on, let's go!" I flinched as Pandimala grabbed my servo and pulled me along with her in her excitement.

After that nano, the rest of our trip to the market was a blur of running around. Pandimala seemed to be trying to hit all the vendors as soon as possible. Was she worried that we wouldn't come back? Honestly, if Pandimala wanted to come here when I was her guide, I'd let her. We had a lot of fun, and even though it was starting to get dark, I didn't feel like time had passed. I didn't do…, friends. Was this what having one was like?

No. I couldn't think of myself as her friend. I didn't deserve to have her as a friend.

Friends didn't have other friends shot down.

A loud vent escaping Pandimala was my only warning before I felt her open servo slap the back of my helm, sending me forward slightly. This had to be it. I shouldn't have…, "Get out of your fragging helm, Seabreaker."

I flinched when she said that. What the frag did she mean? "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I mean. You have been so easy to read all solar, but I wanted to give you a chance to get out of your thoughts. That was obviously a mistake on my part." Pandimala lectured. "Look, I get it. Spending time with me after what happened had to make you nervous. Trust me when I say I understand what you are going through. You all aren't the first to shoot first and ask questions later. You are just handling it better." She then let out a laugh. "I've been trying to get you to relax all fragging solar, and all you keep doing is closing yourself in more. What happened to the stand-up bot I saw while meeting with your creators? There was none of this self-doubt. None of this prolonged hesitation. Thoughts, yes, there were plenty of those back then. But none of this bull-slag that you have been showing!"

"I…" My processor felt numb as the femme yelled at me. She…she was mad that I was still upset that I shot her down? Did I end up in some strange hallucination?

"Sure, you shot me down. But you regret it and are paying for the trouble you caused me. I reached an agreement with your creators about your punishments, and nowhere in there did I say I would stay upset with you. Nowhere did I say that I would take more punishment from you later. Unless I've somehow mistranslated the word 'guide,' you shouldn't be expecting me to give you a hard time. If that were the goal, I would have made Firebrand a part of this instead of you."

My optics felt frozen on the femme when she said that. She just said that she would have had Firebrand instead of me if she wanted to cause us problems about what we caused. "Why not?" I croaked out. Tears fell from my optics as I tried to process everything she said. She had been shot down for no reason on my and Firebrand's orders, and she was acting so different from what we thought.

I flinched when she quickly moved forward and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. A hug? "Because holding a grudge is the largest waste of time I can find if the being who hurt me already apologized. You apologized. So, we can start over."

We… could start over? "We can?"

She nodded. "Of course, we can. Neither of us knew each other when I got shot down, and the best way to move past that is to get to know one another. That was what I was trying to do this solar, though that seemed to backfire on me a bit." When she said that, I felt like a weight was lifted from my spark. A weight that I didn't even know existed until this nano.

"Can we try again?" I asked her, feeling more confident than I had all solar. My worry about what Pandimala might do made me miss out on having a fun solar with the femme. If I was going to fix this, I needed to take the first step as I did during that meeting with my creators.

Pandimala backed up, and I squashed down a bit of worry as she did. Pandimala wouldn't do anything like that. I understood her better than I did with my thoughts from earlier. "Definitely," Pandimala said as she held out her servo.

Taking her servo in mine, I smiled as we shook. Despite everything that happened, I had a chance to be her friend, and I wasn't going to waste it. "Thanks for this chance, Pandimala."

I was going to say more when I suddenly got a private message from Lightbeam. "Code Sideways. In the woods, two clicks north of the Marina Market. -Lightbeam."

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

Something happened. And, for the first time this solar, I was sure Seabreaker wasn't in his thoughts. I would admit that it was hard not to say something to the mech earlier, but I wanted him to use that processor of his to realize that I wasn't on some vengeance streak against him. Honestly, even if I wanted to do that, I would need to be on his good side to help broker this Alliance I wanted between his sire and Lord Megatron. But I wasn't. I just wanted to know the mech that showed so much promise.

And while this solar didn't go exactly as I hoped it would, I learned some things from the mech and met Lord Oryax of Ethos. Reading about the giant mech was one thing, but meeting him personally was fun. While he obviously expected decorum, he also understood different cultures. He knew that I would not give him a proper greeting. But he wanted to hear my explanation of it. How he asked me reminded me of Swindle asking me about my loyalty back on Earth.

Of course, learning that bit about the Eternia Embassy was especially nice. I knew I could wipe Skywarp's record easily.

But neither of those issues were here and now. Seabreaker had suddenly tensed and looked worried. "Is everything alright?" I asked the mech, who I hoped would start relaxing around me.

To my surprise, he shook his helm and looked toward the woods we were next to. "We need to make a small detour." He said as he started to move toward the woods. As I followed him, he explained. "About ten stellars ago, a bot called Sideways visited Vestium Major and hit it off with that group of bots my sister spends time with. She felt something was off with him, so she sent me a private message with her location attached. I went, and the mech was a trader who kidnapped high-value bots and sold them off to the highest bidder, whether that was a bot's family or not. I helped her fight him off until the guard came. We captured him, and he is currently on one of the Alliance's prison planets."

"Sounds like a real piece of work." I cut in with a shiver. Sideways was a designation I was familiar with from my past life. An aspect of Unicron that caused chaos to run rampant in the Armada universe, he was not a mech I wanted to meet here. At least they had been able to stop him and capture him.

"He was." Seabreaker agreed. "After that solar, though, Light and I agreed that she would send me a Code Sideways whenever she felt uncomfortable at one of her parties. Unless I have to get the guards involved, I ask no questions and tell nobot about what might happen." He then motioned forward. "She sent me one, and she isn't far from here. If you don't mind, as long as we don't involve the guards, can you keep this between us?"

Being from Earth and living as a teenager, I knew the draw to private parties. While I never went to any myself, the few friends I did have went to some, and they would tell many fun stories. Mom even told stories about when she would sneak out to parties when she was my age. And, from the sound of this, they were taking precautions, so I could agree. That was especially since they would involve the guards if needed. "I promise." But then I remembered some observations I had made the other solar with Grinchain and Seabreaker this solar that concerned me. "Speaking of your guards, though, they don't seem well trained."

Seabreaker winced at my call out before he let out a vent. "Sire and carrier try. They don't want us to go out without protection, but they want to respect our privacy the best they can. So, they have us followed. However, the bots they pick aren't the best, or they would have been hired into the military, and we can lose them pretty easily if we want to. We lose a couple even when we aren't trying to."

"I noticed,"

The sound of voices coming up caused us both to stay silent as we moved closer. Since there wasn't an exact reason behind this call for help that Lightbeam sent, we didn't want to jump in blasters charged. We needed to see what the situation was like first. Even as we walked closer, and I could hear the crackling fire, something felt wrong. Something in my lines was almost pulsing as we moved closer. What the frag was that?

When we broke the tree line, the six bots there turned to us with nervous looks. Of course, I wasn't sure whether they were worried about getting caught, my arrival…or even both. "Seabreaker, you following me now?" Lightbeam spoke up.

So, either the message was by accident, which I doubted, or she wasn't entirely sure about it and just wanted her brother here, just in case. If it was the second option, I was more impressed with the femme than I was before. "No, I was just showing Pandimala around a bit, and we heard you all. Came to see what was going on."

At his mention of me, all the optics in the clearing turned to me nervously. Shaking my helm, I leaned against the tree I was next to. "Does it look like I give a scrap about what you all do? Just act responsibly, and I won't say anything." But, if we were right, one of the bots here might not be acting correctly.

A salmon and red-colored mech who looked like he was a six-wheeled hauler of some sort shrugged his shoulders. "Seems chill enough. I'm Glein, you know Lightbeam, obviously," He motioned to an orange and brown two-wheeler mech. "That's Giro," Next was a smaller scout model mech, "Topad," A green and blue watercraft mech, "Filan," And finally, he motioned to a green and orange seeker mech, "Coyode. This is his first night with us, along with you two. He was bringing out some energon for all of us to try." Glein then looked to Coyode. "Do you have enough for them as well?"

My instincts practically screamed at me to stay on the defense around Coyode as he shrugged. Lightbeam was right. Something wasn't right with this mech. I'd have to be careful around him. Right now, he had no reason to suspect that we were here for any other reason than we said. "Always carry extra with me. Never know when I need to make a new friend." A chill went through my systems as he talked. Yes, something was off here.

As the rest of us sat down, Glein helped Coyode pass out cubes of the 'energon.' However, even before mine was handed to me, something wasn't right. Different additives would change the energon color and leave behind residue. I had seen this during my time on the Nemesis on Earth. However, the amber coloring with silver shimmers was suspect at best. That color, while excellent for human alcohol, was rarely a good thing for us. Starscream had mentioned before that he had to get used to drinking bourbon in his soliform because most energons that were that color would hurt us.

And with that in processor, I didn't hesitate to start a scan of the energon as soon as it was handed to me. Thankfully, none of the others seemed to be drinking theirs, though if I had to guess, that was because they were waiting for some signal they all had. That should give me the time I would need. "Well, now that everybot has their cube, I say we should let our unexpected guests drink first," Coyode spoke up with a motion toward us. The conniving gleam in his optics made me on edge. Something wasn't right.

But I needed to play along. So, I raised the cube toward him as if I was giving thanks to him for providing before I moved the cube closer to me. Thankfully, just as the cube neared my lips, my scan returned. Quickly, I moved the cube away with a snarl. I wasn't sure what this mech was trying for, but it would not stand! "Nobot drink this." I ground out before I stood and turned to Seabreaker. "Get the guard. Nobot leaves here until this is figured out."

"What, is my energon not good enough for you?" Coyode growled.

Motioning to the cube in my servo, I answered him. "I wouldn't give two slags if this was cheap low-grade if it was given in good faith. Energon infused with a sulfur gallium cocktail on the other servo could be seen as a declaration of war to the wrong optics."

My instincts took a complete turn when the shocked look appeared on the mech's faceplate. Did he really not know what was in it? "That's not possible. The only thing I added to it was some chromate to prank everybot. Change their colors a little. I'm not going to mess with that slag. Somebot's framing me!"

He was serious. Immediately, I glanced around at the others sitting here. Outside of Seabreaker, who had been with me, and Coyode, who was clearly showing signs of telling the truth, anybot else here could be responsible. Giro and Lightbeam looked too shocked to be trying to hide anything, so they were out as well. That just left Glein, Filan, and Topad. The three of them looked nervous about something. However, I doubted that they were all in on it.

Thankfully, there was going to be an easy solution to this.

"Everybot, stay calm," I stated slowly as I looked around. "The guards are on their way, and memory viewing through a patch will reveal who is responsible for this. For those who are not guilty, I do recommend getting into the habit of scanning any drink you may take, even if it is from a friend. If you don't watch that drink during the entire process it was made, then you scan that slag. Only accept a drink from somebot you trust with your very spark. Nothing less. It is one of the first lessons I learned as I got older, and it is something you all should have."

I had to keep focused. This situation was too close to the time when I had been drugged. It was honestly the reason I scanned every fragging drink I took. I wasn't so bad on the Nemesis once we got rid of Thrust, but I did it every so often. The habit went into full force when I was with the Autobots, so when I returned to the Nemesis, I scanned all energon I got when I was not inebriated unless it came from Lord Megatron.

Given what happened this solar, I was glad I was still in the habit.

"We don't have to listen to her," Topad growled as he started to move.

Before I could respond, Lightbeam took off a wing blade and held it up toward the mech. "Maybe not, but you do have to listen to me. We are all staying here until this gets figured out." She then glanced toward me and gave a slight nod.

Not long after, the guard arrived and started to do field patches. I volunteered to go first and, not to my surprise, given the circumstances, Coyode went next. It showed him adding the chromate, which was fine given the effects, but it didn't show anything else added by the mech. Once he was done, he moved to stand next to me as Seabreaker took his turn. "You suspected it was me at first."

Well, I wasn't going to hide it. "Yes."

"Why?" He questioned. "I understand the others. I'm the foreigner that only Glein knows, and so an attack like this, in their optics, would have a higher chance of being committed by me. That was especially since I provided the energon. But you're a foreigner as well. Why did you suspect me?"

Time to be honest. "Honestly, it was a few factors. As you just pointed out, you provided the energon. Statistically, that gave you the best chance at altering the energon, as you did. Just not how I suspected. Secondly, your excitement for your prank read as tense for something to do with the energon. Thirdly, as I am sure you suspect, Seabreaker and I did not end up in that clearing by accident. Lightbeam sent Seabreaker a message saying that she was concerned about something. Didn't say what, but it put us on edge as we arrived at the party."

"That makes sense," He admitted.

"Release me right now!" The two of us glanced up as the guards restrained Topad. I guess the bad bot was an already-established member of her group.

Honestly, these bots weren't bad. A little too laid back, yes. But they were just your average bots. Now, I needed to ask Grinchain why he seemed so against them. Topad was a bad bot, but the others appeared to be good friends to Lightbeam. And just from that conversation with Coyode, he would also make a good friend. A great friend even.

And given the events of this solar, I was sure they would all practice more caution in the future. They could make it a tradition to make it feel less awkward to new bots. I'd have Seabreaker suggest it to Lightbeam.

Speaking of said femme, I focused on Lightbeam as she approached me. "I wanted to say thanks. You saved us a lot of trouble catching him. I should have been more careful."

"You should have been," Her helm jerked up to focus on me as I responded. "From what I have heard, you always sneak out and disregard everything your creators tell you. While I don't mind sneaking out, you do so with a blatant risk to yourself." I could see her about to argue with me, so I held up my servo. "Let me finish. I don't mind bots going off and having fun, but you are going about it incorrectly. Look at what happened this solar. Your brother is on the same lockdown that I am. What would have happened to you if we were further away than we were?"

As we stood silently, I could almost see her thoughts pass before her optics. "I didn't think about it like that," She eventually spoke up.

"What would have happened is that we would most likely not have made it on time," I emphasized, just in case she didn't make that conclusion. Fixing this family so they could negotiate with Lord Megatron meant that I also needed to fix these problems. "At the very least, that drink would have damaged you. At worst…well, I'm sure you can imagine what might have happened to you. You have a good set of friends here. Coyode even seems like he will make a good friend. Would you like my advice on what to do so you and your creators will be happy?"

"I doubt they will budge," She huffed.

At that, I raised an optic ridge. "I've found I can be pretty persuasive. That is especially since I just saved you. They may listen to me a little more. However, I won't act unless you agree with my plan. So, would you like my advice?"

Her optics studied me for a few nanos before she nodded. "What do you think?"

"Introduce your friends here to your creators. If your friends agree, even have them undergo a comprehensive background patch. That should clear up any fears your creators may have about them…and that may have helped us in the situation this solar," I started. "At that point, have your creators assign them as your guards, each taking a turn. While that means that one of them will have to abstain from the festivities each time you have one of these parties, you won't have your creators practically glued to your backplates, and they will have no reason to mistrust the bots you are around."

Her optics widened in surprise as I proposed my idea. It would make both parties happy, and if I suggested it, this would help more than I could see now. "I'll ask the mechs next solar when I see them about the patch. If they agree, then go for it. Tonight showed me that they may have had a point about some of what they have been saying." She then went to walk back to her friends. However, before she made it too far, she turned back to me and smiled. "And Pandimala? Thanks." I gave her a nod in return.

The rest of the time went by in a blur. Questions were asked, and after a trip back to the castle, Seabreaker led me to my room with the promise to make sure Grinchain showed me a good time next solar after the chaos this one had been. Laying in my berth, I let my processor catch up to me. This solar had been more exciting than I thought it would be. However, my time here had only begun, and I was bound and determined to make the most of it.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

I was at a point where I wanted an average solar—just one. So far, my stay here had been filled with attacks, recovery, and trouble. This solar, I had to hope that I would be taken to a regular spot and nobot would cause a problem. That would be a lovely solar. Or maybe I would stay in recharge. Yeah, that sounded like a good solar, too.

A knock at my door caused me to sit up. Checking my internal clock, I felt suspicious when I saw that there was still an hour left before Grinchain was supposed to come and pick me up. As far as I knew, I had no medical checkups scheduled until the evening. Given the past few solars, Physis figured it would be best for me to get checked after each solar and get me at the end of the solar instead of having me rest with any pain I may have acquired.

It was rather annoying just how easy it was for them to predict what might happen to me.

However, back to the situation at servo, I got out of berth as another rapture of knocks hit my door. "Give me a slagging click," I grumbled as I moved to the door. Whoever these slaggers were better have an excellent fragging excuse as to why they were waking me up. It didn't take me long to open the door and glare at the bots on the other side. "What?"

I was surprised when neither of them flinched. Either they had no fear or felt like whoever sent them here would protect them. "You have been summoned to Iussa's presence. You have one cycle to make yourself presentable."

Iussa? That was the name of their goddess. She was a servos-off goddess from the little research I had done into her. While that was something that I felt more gods needed to do, I wasn't much of a fan of gods in general. Wait…what did they just say? "Hold up; I'm not going anywhere. I don't want to!" I yelled after the bots, who had already left my entryway and made their way down the hall.

Instead of trying to convince me otherwise, the shorter of the two simply glanced back at me as they rounded the corner. "One cycle femme."

What. The. Frag?

Immediately, I hopped onto my comm and connected to Grinchain. "I want a fragging explanation about why I just got harassed by two mechs who wouldn't let me get a word in!"

"Slag, I was hoping to get there before they did. I told sire this was a fragging bad idea." I could hear the annoyance in his vocals. Plus, from how heavy his voice sounded, he was walking somewhere. Hopefully, that somewhere was toward me. "But when Iussa gets involved, sire and carrier get a little nervous. I'll be there soon to explain everything."

Of course, most bots would back down at the word of a god. Now that I had experienced as much as I did, I missed the obliviousness to gods I used to have before Paul came into my existence. Of course, he was the biggest god I had problems with, so that might explain some of it. However, with my experience between Paul and Unicron, I didn't have that same fear of gods. I was not their plaything, to be called to them on their whims.

Gods would not play me…not again.

I focused as I heard the sound of pedesteps running toward me from the right. After a few clicks, Grinchain raced around the corner. He was moving with so much abandon that he almost clipped his wing on the edge of the wall. "Whoa, slow down, Grin. I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere."

As he caught his intakes, he stared at me with surprised optics. "What…what do you mean? We have less than a cycle before Iussa expects to meet with you."

I let out a short vent. "If Iussa is so anxious to meet me, she can wait until I am fragging ready."

The surprised look stayed in his optics as I moved him into my room. He needed to sit down for a nano. "But…but she is a god."

"You're a mech; I'm a femme. You are a prince of Vestium Major, and I'm a Decepticon." I motioned between the two of us as I spoke. "Want to state more obvious things?"

His expression would be hilarious if I wasn't so angry about this situation. Fragging hilarious. But right now, I was two clicks away from finding out where this Iussa was and ripping her helm off. So, I settled for a smirk as he finally fumbled out an answer. "But she could take revenge if she wants."

"If a goddess feels the need to 'take revenge' because I don't show up to a meeting precisely when she wants me to, then I don't have much to worry about." I laughed before I motioned to the door. "Now, explain why I was threatened to meet with this goddess. Why would she want to see me?"

To my surprise, Grinchain shook his helm. "That's just it; we don't know. Sire received her message last night saying she wanted to meet you personally. I guess she heard about your arrival. Like I said, sire and carrier back down when Iussa gets involved. The note they got said she would send her emissaries to you before she wished to meet. None of us realized that she was going to send them so soon. I was supposed to tell you about it when I came to pick you up this solar…but you see how that went."

Yeah, those 'emissaries' disrupted my morning, and I wasn't happy with that. I needed more information on this goddess before deciding if I would attend this meeting. While I knew a tiny bit about her, I didn't know nearly enough to get through a meeting. "Tell me about her. What kind of goddess is she? What sort of powers does she have?"

"I mean, I know what we were taught growing up. Iussa is a goddess that is order-centric."

Wait, hold up. What was that about? "What do you mean 'order-centric'?"

Was this some common knowledge that I should know? From the vent that came out of the mech, I realized I might be in luck. "I keep forgetting that Cybertronians have the pinnacle gods, so they don't teach about the branching system." Branching system? "Galactic religion knows that in the beginning, there was one entity. From that entity split two powerful gods. One of Order, and then one of Chaos."

"Primus and Unicron." I filled in.

He nodded before continuing. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you about their history," No, because I have lived it. "From the influence their energies spread, other gods and goddesses rose and fostered life on their own planets. All gods and goddesses have a mix of order and chaos in their energies. Iussa is an order-centric goddess because she came into being through mostly energy from Primus. Murav is a chaos-centric god that watches over the labac."

Oh, that's what he meant. Slag.

I guess being on Earth and all of the gods we believed in, I didn't think in galactic terms of gods. The reality of them. That also meant there was a chance that the gods of Earth were real, too. When I got to Pyrovar, I had to ask Michael about that. Humans thought of gods as beings that controlled things we didn't understand. Thinking of them as being in just two categories, order and chaos, was something I wasn't used to. I couldn't begin to understand that right now.

It would be easier for him to keep explaining Iussa to me. "Sorry for the interruption. Please continue."

He nodded. "So, Iussa is an order-centric goddess. She likes to let us use our inherent order to guide us. So, her having this summons came out of nowhere." A goddess that kept their servos out of their planet's affairs? That was something I wasn't used to. "From stories we learned growing up, Iussa could manipulate us if she wished, given that she derives her power from Primus."

My chassis tensed as he continued to answer me. I already had enough of Primus manipulating me; I didn't need his branch goddess messing with me, too. But I wouldn't be afraid of her. If I could deal with Primus and Unicron, I could deal with her.

But I wouldn't be going alone. "I see." I studied the mech in front of me with a good feeling.

He immediately looked worried. "I don't like that look. Why do you have that look?"

Standing up, I motioned to the door. "This is your guide solar, isn't it? To be my guide, you would have to join me."

I could almost watch as the color faded from the mech. He thought I would do this alone? Fat fragging chance. "What? The summons was only for you, though. I don't think she will like it if I come with you."

"Does it look like I give a scrap if she likes it?" I shot back. "She sends her goons in here and starts making demands. If she wants me to see her that badly, she will have to meet a few of my own. And one of those is that you will be coming with me. I'll probably have more when we arrive, but that will do for now." I then held out a servo to him. "You did ask to be my guide as well."

His faceplate fell at that. "That's not nice." But, he took my servo. "But I did say I wanted to be your guide. And if that means facing down a goddess, then I guess I'm facing down a goddess."

The two of us then made our way out of my room and toward this meeting. As we walked, I felt guilty as I glanced toward Grinchain. While it wasn't entirely on the same level as my godly experiences, I was forcing him to meet with his goddess, and I would bet my bottom credit that he knew this wouldn't be a pleasant meeting. Or at least a pleasant start to one.

I should get his processor off of the matter. "So, how has training been going?"

He jumped and glanced at me before he smiled. "That first solar went well. Skylark and I sat down and figured out what my training schedule would be like. I told her I didn't want to train a full solar schedule like most bots. She was pretty understanding and said she liked having short solars as well. However, she did say that I should have at least one all-solar training session every seven solars to help keep up the work I'm doing. I agreed as long as I wouldn't feel like my chassis was breaking down on those solars."

"Looks like you got a good one," I commented back. While it was great for a bot to want to help train somebot at a pace they thought was best, they also needed to keep the bot's wishes in processor. At one point, the mechs on the Nemesis hadn't been letting me train as I wanted to, and it caused problems between us and made me unprepared for situations that I ended up in. I didn't blame the mechs back then, and I still didn't, but the facts were there. More training would have helped.

Grinchain nodded. "She is great. And she also understands that I can only come every other solar while I am your guide. Once you're all healed up and heading to Pyrovar, she said we could go back over our schedule to use the free time I will have. For now, we are starting with the basics to see areas I might have to focus on more."

"Sounds like you have a plan. That'll go a long way in training." I agreed as we continued to move through the streets.

The way the streets changed as we moved closer to our destination was strange. The hustle and bustle of the morning was quieting to the tense silence surrounding us. I would say reverence, but the nervous way the bots looked at us made me take that back. If it were reverence, they wouldn't care what I was doing. I wasn't a super religious person before Primus came into my life, but I considered myself to believe in a certain faith. At the very least, I learned the lessons that it taught. But, I had seen the super religious, and they had two modes: super converter or super isolated. And that was without the god present on the world. You would think that one where the god was present would have more fanatics.

I would take that as a good sign for now.

As we approached the cathedral-esque building where I assumed Iussa resided, that good sign started to wane a little as I caught sight of the guards in front. Weapons already out, and a tense look. Slag. While I was expected, Grinchain was not. And, with the way they were already looking toward us, I knew it would only get worse from here.

"Halt," I stopped when told to by the guard, who seemed to transform into a semi-esque form. "Only the presence of the Decepticon called Pandimala was requested. Prince Grinchain will leave this sector immediately."

Oh, slag no they didn't just do that. "Then I'm leaving too. No Grinchain means no Pandimala. And I'm sure your goddess would be upset if I did not arrive."

"That was not a request, femme. Grinchain will leave whilst you meet with Iussa alone. That is her word, and her word shall be done." The other guard looked like he could turn into a T-28 tank if he were on Earth. In other words, he would be terrifying for the average bot to meet.

"I didn't realize this goddess hired guards who were hard of hearing." I started slowly to make sure he heard every single word. "Either Grinchain comes in with me, or we are both leaving, and Iussa can, with all due respect, go shove it. Make your choice."

Grinchain flinched next to me as that guard pulled a sword out of his subspace and held it against me. "You would defy the words of a goddess? I should put you down where you stand."

Taking out one of my blades, I held it so I could defend myself if needed. "If you try, I won't be the one being put down. As I said, make your choice, or I'll make it for you, and I am sure you won't like the results."

Before the mech could make a move, one way or the other, a smaller mech who looked like he had an alt mode similar to Soundwave's came outside. Of course, this mech had much brighter colors than Soundwave did. "The goddess has heard you, Pandimala, and agrees to have Grinchain accompany you."

I looked between the three of them and Grinchain, poor mech, before I nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?" As this new mech walked us past the guards, I noticed the tank mech glaring at me, so I smirked back. Fragger.

"Iussa is expecting you." The mech spoke up as we moved through the gilded halls. "She was quite upset when you did not arrive at your appointed time."

I was curious if she noticed. Guess she did. "I run on my own time and not on the whims of a goddess," I responded to the mech as he continued to move us forward.

I'd give it to the mech; at least he had more control than that guard at the door. Frag, he would be easy to rile up on the battlefield if needed. "I expect your attitude to improve when you speak to Iussa, for your sake. She does not take kindly to back-talk."

Well, she had better get used to it if this was how she acted. Of course, I wasn't going to tell the mech that yet. I was just curious enough about this goddess to want to see her. But like frag I would be kneeling. Honestly, with how her representatives have treated me, I wasn't sure if I would even bow to her.

After a few clicks, we arrived at a black and gold ornate door. If I had to guess, the images on it showed the story of Iussa and her creation of Vestium Major. Interesting. I'd have to look back on my memories of this later to study it more. Once the door was opened, I walked inside and immediately took stock of my surroundings.

Two doors on the back wall could serve as an exit if I needed one. Then, of course, I took stock of the bots in the room. Excluding our guide and the two of us, seven other bots were here. Three mechs and three femmes stood along the aisle, leading to a femme twice my size sitting on a throne. Her sky-blue optics seemed to be intently studying me. Of course, the other six bots were also looking toward me. However, they didn't look as nearly neutral as the bot, who I was assuming was Iussa, did. I guess I shuffled some plating with my demands.

When Iussa's servo motioned toward us, everybot else knelt to her. Um, did I look like some trained animal? I wasn't going to be kneeling to anybot but Lord Megatron. She was going to have to deal with it. "You refuse to give me reverence?" Her voice didn't sound angry, but it carried a tone of amusement, almost like she was watching a misbehaving sparkling throw a fit.

"I kneel to one only, and you are not that one," I explained to her.

While I could see the anger my statement caused among the bots in here, I stayed focused on the goddess as she tilted her helm. "While I am not Primus, I am one that was mostly begotten from his energies, which should warrant some form of deference from one who worships the god."

I let out a scoff at that. That caused the goddess to raise an optic ridge at my reaction before I responded to her. "I say this with every intent behind the words; Primus can get fragged by a scraplet in the aft for all I slagging cared."

The reactions around the room were priceless.

Two of the mechs looked as if I had just cursed their sparks for all eternity, while the other looked ready to attack me at the word of the goddess. Of the three femmes, one gave me a glare that would make me even more vigilant in scanning my energon if she were around. Another looked like she was about two clicks from spark failure. The third one was glancing up at Iussa like she would curtail me.

Fat chance.

The mech who was our guide here finally seemed to crack, and I felt that as a small victory. His faceplate looked like he was frozen in shock. And then there was poor Grinchain. I'm sure even he couldn't have guessed how bad this would end up. They needed this wakeup if they couldn't treat the goddess as a regular being. Should somebot give a god or goddess respect? Only if they had earned it. While Unicron as a whole was my enemy, Michael had earned my respect, and so he had it. Conversely, while Primus as a whole had my respect so far, Paul was the main focus of that statement I just made.

Finally, I turned to the goddess and felt nervous as I saw her reaction. She looked furious. While I was sure I could deal with the goddess, I was still healing, and dealing with Physis was a much more harrowing future.

Medics scared me at times.

"You dare desecrate the designation of Primus before me?" Iussa practically snarled as she rose from her throne. "You will lower your helm femme and kneel!"

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

It was obvious when control of the room changed.

I was sure we all felt the pressure that hit us when Iussa demanded Pandimala to kneel. She used her godly powers to force the femme to follow her orders. I had expected to hear Pandimala's knee hit the floor immediately. However, the room instead seemed to grow cold. The force from Iussa prevented me from lifting my helm to watch, but my wings told me that this disturbance was coming from Pandimala.

A shiver traveled through my chassis as a growl came from Pandimala's vocals. "You are no different from him." To my amazement, the sound of pedesteps moving hit my audios. Pandimala was resisting Iussa? I knew the femme was powerful…but to resist a goddess? How had she stayed out of any reports from the Decepticons for so long? With that kind of strength and willpower, her designation should have littered the information we got. Yet, until we shot her down, we had never heard of her before. "Sitting there upon your tawdry pinnacle, expecting the world to move along as you see fit. And when it doesn't, you throw a fit and lash out. Using your power for your selfish wants and desires."

When the power holding us down suddenly dropped dramatically, I glanced up and was shocked to see Pandimala standing above Iussa. While only half the size of the goddess, Pandimala seemed to tower over the deity in that click. It was honestly a terrifying sight. If I wondered how a femme as nice as Pandimala survived the Decepticons outside of her loyalty, I didn't anymore.

The room's atmosphere grew heavy as Pandimala leaned down toward the goddess. While I couldn't hear what was said, words passed between them. It was strange, though. At first, Iussa looked terrified, as if she was worried that her spark wouldn't continue beating after every nano. The longer they whispered, the more thoughtful her glance appeared. What was even stranger was that, after a few clicks, Iussa glanced over at me before glancing up at Pandimala. And again, the goddess' look remained as they both talked.

After a few tense clicks, the pressure around the room lifted, and the rest of us glanced toward the throne, and we were all shocked. Iussa was standing again, a smile on her faceplate, and she was glancing at Pandimala with an appraising look. What the frag had we missed during that? And it wasn't just Iussa that looked different.

Glancing at Pandimala, she seemed dramatically calmed down. She looked hesitant but relaxed. Yeah, we missed something big during Iussa's power trip. They don't happen often, but I had never heard of one this strong before this solar. And, judging from the looks of her guards, they hadn't either. And the few times I had heard of Iussa lashing out at others, they hadn't ended nearly as well. "I believe," Iussa started to speak, "That Pandimala and I need a few clicks alone to discuss certain things. Wait outside the doors until I summon you back inside," At a glance from Pandimala, Iussa cleared her vocals. "Please."

I think the shock of Iussa saying please, along with Pandimala nodding toward me, made me step outside with the others. Once we were out of the room, Halew, who had been our guide into the room, rounded on me. "Just what sort of femme did you bring to Iussa's presence?"

This mech did not just seriously accuse me of that? "First of all, I distinctly remember Pandimala calling me in a rage this morning about your goons, most likely Calral and Bajuit given their bluntness, showing up at her doorway demanding that Pandimala meet with Iussa in a set amount of time. You brought her here. She wasn't too thrilled about that, by the way."

"You are blaming Iussa?" Bealac, Iussa's head femme guard, hissed.

I shook my helm. "No, Iussa made her trouble with Pandimala. No, this was a collective effort of all of you. Do you all realize the trouble we are in right now? We are at risk of war with the Decepticons if we don't act right, and you all pull a fragging stunt like this?"

"Since when did you get a spinal strut?" Accium, Iussa's lead mech guard, huffed with a studying look.

I let out an amused huff at that. "Since I spent one solar with the femme currently with Iussa. You all just got a taste of her influence. Iussa already looks changed. And if Pandimala can help a goddess see sense, imagine what she could do to me in a solar."

"What do you think they are talking about in there?" I glanced over at Quips, one of the other femme guards, as she asked that question. "I've never seen Iussa look so shaken before."

"We don't question Iussa," Glista, the third femme, reprimanded Quips.

Surprisingly, Balash shook his helm. "Except for the fact that Iussa is meeting with Pandimala right now and is listening to the femme despite it being against her wishes as she made them known to us."

The third mech, Tibel, nodded. "Yeah, and it isn't questioning Iussa; it is just being curious about a situation. Iussa's teachings tell us to use our free will as she has given it to us. Simply wondering about their conversation is just using that free will."

Wow. They were questioning themselves. I never thought I would see the solar where the guards would disagree with each other. Pandimala was changing things. I figured her time spent with Seabreaker and me was what changed us. But we had barely been here fifteen clicks, and already I was seeing this change.

It made me think back to that meeting between our family and her. When she first brought up the guide program as punishment, she mentioned that Firebrand wouldn't be a part of it for now. That meant that, despite his slag-infested attitude, Pandimala thought that she could snap him out of the funk this whole mess had put him in. The anger that he had wasn't like my big brother. It wasn't. Given everything I had seen change in Pandimala's presence, maybe I would get my brother back.

Firebrand's 1st P.O.V.

"I feel like I'm watching the end of Vestium Major," I complained as I paced on the ground. On the ground, instead of being in the air training…preparing for the solar I took over leadership of Vestium Major from sire. I had worked so hard for this. And now I felt like this mistake was preparing me for my offlining. One fragging mistake and I was on the chopping block.

Sharpstreak shook his helm. "Sounds like every other Decepticon scum that I've come across." He then spat on the ground before continuing. "Manipulative scum. They should be eradicated on sight. Instead, we are stuck with this one on the planet."

"Sire is bowing to each of her fragging whims," I growled. "She even went to meet with Iussa this solar."

That caused Sharpstreak to halt and turn toward me. "Your sire let a Decepticon near your goddess? Has he gone senile? If my sire allowed a Decepticon near Alaran, I'd have him deposed."

I shook my helm at that. "No. The weird thing was that Iussa demanded it. The Decepticon and Grinchain only left her about two cycles ago." I glanced up at the setting sun and shook my helm. "Perhaps Iussa will see the evil in her and convince sire to get rid of her."

He nodded at that. "I see Iussa being the only one to break through to your sire." We then started walking. "Speaking of your sire, do you know why he has brought in his subordinate planet leaders? I saw Lord Oryax looking around the Fair site and heard that Emperor Thav was in the city."

A vent escaped me before I could stop it. Why else would sire send out a call for them right now? "What do you think? It's this situation with the Decepticon. He's worried about what will happen as other planets hear about what happened. Like he needs to worry. No planet worth themselves will care what happened to a fragging Decepticon. But sire wants to gather our allies for when other planets start showing up."

This was a pile of slag, and I would ensure the Decepticon paid for this. That was especially given how she seemed to draw my siblings into her. Grinchain was a lost cause because of his toxic obsession with the Cybertronian Civil War. There was no hope for him. Seabreaker was one that I knew was weak, but he still folded to the femme faster than I thought. I winced as I moved my shoulder wrong. Of course, Seabreaker had moved to defend her rather quickly. I should have seen it coming.

But, the biggest surprise was that Lightbeam was already under the Decepticon's sway. My rebel sister, who rejected authority as if she was created to. I thought that she might become an ally against the femme with me. But somehow, that fragging Decepticon pulled my sister into her schemes. This Decepticon was more dangerous than even I thought. Lightbeam was even bringing her friends to meet sire and carrier under the Decepticon's suggestion.

"Where is the femme supposed to be tomorrow?" Sharpstreak asked as we stopped by one of the smaller lakes.

"She thinks she has a chance at the Eternia Embassy soliform challenge," I answered my friend. "I don't see her lasting more than a cycle. The way she demands everything go her way, the labac will find her in a spark beat." I couldn't begin to guess how this femme thought she could hide as a soliform. Decepticon pride, maybe. But, they weren't well known for lasting through the challenge. That one Decepticon, Skywarp, was a fluke. None had ever lasted a solar. The fact that this femme was taking the challenge wasn't even the worst part. "What's even more, she is having Physis and Sandstorm push back her training and recovery for seven solars. Like she would last that long."

"Probably not," Sharpstreak agreed. "And that will give us more time."

More time? More time for what? "Time?"

He motioned toward the lake, which happened to be in the castle's direction. "Time for us to plan the removal of the Decepticon parasite here on Vestium Major. I'll have access to her when she finally arrives for the triple-changer training, which will make our job easier. The last two Decepticon triple-changers who came through the training were removed from the program. Getting a third one removed should be simple enough."

He was right. I remembered hearing the news about those two Decepticons and how their snaps almost ended the training program here on Vestium Major. It would still be in the memories of the trainers and important bots of the time. Yes, that could work. "And any way we can hurt her reputation before that would just add fuel to the fire."

Sharpstreak smiled at that. "Now you're thinking! But, leave that to me. You just keep bringing me information so I can help you. That's what allies do, after all, and Pova is a close ally of Vestium Major, after all. We have to stick together."

He was right. We were allies, and we would help each other through this. "Yeah, we'll stick together." As I said that, though, something didn't feel right. For now, I pushed that aside. We needed to eliminate that Decepticon before she destroyed Vestium Major and everything we worked for.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

This was amazing! I was already on my third solar, and no one near me had a fragging clue that I was a soliform. Of course, that might have helped during the first solar when I went to one of the restaurants—The Sargart Inn and Restaurant. Given my lack of knowledge about other species, I knew it was too risky to be any other species outside of human. However, there was also the problem of humans not being well-known in the galaxies. I got several suspicious looks at the beginning. The restaurant owner, Farnak, had his eyes on me until I got my food. Maybe he thought I would waste it if I were a soliform.

Fat chance of that.

The surprised look that came to his eyes as I dug into what looked like a ribeye steak almost caused me to choke on my laughter. I knew I was a soliform, but they had no idea I was one, and I was sure I blew all suspicions out of the water with that stunt. I also noticed he was friendlier when I started eating. He even pulled a chair with me after he asked if he could, and we began to talk.

At first, he answered some questions I had for him. The quensar, which his species was called, came from Druidia. Druidia, which wasn't relatively far from Earth, was a subordinate planet to Antiga Prime, who was currently a sitting member of the Galactic Alliance as Vestium Major was. What was surprising to hear was that Druidia was what was called a sponsor planet. They were currently the only ones in the alliance who had this status. Being a sponsor planet meant they had another planet under their sponsorship that they were responsible for teaching and protecting.

As for the quensar himself, he was unique to look at. He had blue-scaled skin and four feet that looked like lion paws and legs. Farnak's lower body was also like a lion, though it strangely had a giraffe pattern in the short fur, while his upper body was like a human male. He had four arms that would be similar to a human if it weren't for the retractable claw that came out of the top of each hand. And then we got to his face. It was similar to the elegant elves that were often in fiction, and its color was a lighter blue than the rest of his body. The neon orange of his eyes seemed to glow as it grew darker outside.

Also, the quensar was familiar with humans, having met a couple in his lifetime. He said he was about middle-aged and around three hundred, which meant that humans must get off-world more than I thought. He did mention that he was surprised to see a human so far from Earth, given that we hadn't gotten the hang of deep space travel. I told him the line that I had come up for this.

A group of calthrians, who Swindle told me were famous traders of goods, had stopped by the planet to harvest some carbon and pick up some other items for trade. I had been camping when I accidentally got mixed in with their supplies. They hadn't realized their mistake until we were well away from Earth. To make it up to me, they gave me a few space suits, rations, and a decent amount of credits so I could move my way across the galaxy until I ran into someone heading toward my planet. Unfortunately, most ships I got on were heading in the opposite direction, so I just went where fate led me.

It was a great fake story.

We had a few laughs about that. According to Farnak, that wasn't the first time the calthrians had mistakenly picked up another species. Then, he asked about my plans for now, and I said I wanted to stay for the Advancement Fair and see what it had to offer before I tried to find my next ride. He offered to set me up in one of his rooms, and, seeing as how that would help keep suspicions off of me, I gave him enough credits for seven solars.

And since that moment, I have been having a blast!

"So, what are your plans for today?" Farnak asked, adjusting the universal translator around his neck that was similar to mine. That was another good thing about this embassy. They had galactic translators for organics who visited since we didn't have scanning abilities which mechano species like my actual self had to learn a language automatically.

That had been another fun test. I had been exploring the town market when one of the labac got upset that I had bought the last ready caramel apple that a vendor had. So, he claimed that I was a soliform and said that if I weren't, I would take off the translator and speak my default language.

Since English still came naturally to me, I handed my caramel apple to the vendor and took my translator off for the rhinoceros-esque bipedal in front of me. While they didn't have large horns on their foreheads like rhinos, they did have tusks that grew, which still made them an intimidating species. He must have hoped to intimidate the truth out of me. However, I simply asked in English if this was acceptable.

It had been.

So, now the labac were primarily off my trace and away from me. However, there was one that still talked to me. However, I wasn't sure if that was out of suspicion or a desire for friendship. And that was who I had plans with this solar. "I'm meeting with a friend I made the other day. She offered to show me some highlights of the embassy, and I couldn't say no."

He let out a laugh. "Well, make sure you enjoy yourself. It's not often you humans get to see the universe, and you need to take in every sight you can to make it worth it."

"I don't know, I could get used to your sakarras loaf every seven solars," I joked with him. Though that sakarras loaf that we had for dinner last night was terrific. It was reminiscent of meatloaf but seemed to hit a sweet spot I didn't know I needed to hit. And I didn't know what that blue and purple mashed potato-looking thing I ate was and, with how good it was, I never wanted to know.

And we weren't going to get into the green drink that came with the meal.

Rolling his eyes, the quensar shook his head and stood up. "You are not going to stay away from home for my sakarras. But I appreciate the compliment anyway." He then shook his head. "Just make sure that you are back here before nightfall. I have a group that rented the private dining room, and they asked not to be disturbed. So, if you want a place to sleep tonight, you'll need to be back."

While I was curious about who would be at Farnak's tonight, I knew I needed to get to my own meeting. "I'll remember. Thanks again, Farnak!" I then got out of my seat and ran to the door. My hopefully soon-to-be friend was waiting, and I didn't want to disappoint. I was supposed to meet her in the central square, and I didn't want to be late! Being late meant I could miss out on something about the embassy, and she seemed knowledgeable about the area.

It took me a few minutes to reach the square, and once I skidded to a halt, I looked around for her. Thankfully, she stood out, and I soon saw her waiting by the main fountain. "Caigal!" I called out as I moved toward her.

The labac looked around at my call, and after a few moments, our eyes locked. "Lizzie. I thought you weren't going to make it."

Once I got to her, I let out a laugh. "And miss out on this? Not a chance."

"Good. I hope you brought some water activity wear." A swimsuit? Why would I need that? "The first place we are going is somewhere labac like to go and train while enjoying ourselves."

Wait…just what place was this? At first, I thought we would be going to the beach. But, the labac didn't like to train alone in such open spaces. And, given that they would be enjoying themselves wherever we were going, I realized this was somewhere a little more exclusive.

However, we were running into our first problem. "Given how I hadn't planned on leaving my homeworld, to begin with, I didn't think to pack a swimsuit. Is there anywhere nearby we could maybe buy one?" While I doubted they would have a perfect fit for me, I would figure something out to make it doable. Hell, I'd wear swim trunks and a waterproof shirt if I needed to.

Thankfully, Caigal had an answer to that. "My apologies. I allowed myself to forget your circumstances in arriving here." If only you knew the real one. "Come. There is a shop that can make you what you need. You will need to pick out the materials, though."

Was this a custom shop? Could I afford that without looking suspicious? It seemed better to play on the side of caution. "Um…Caigal, I'm not sure I can afford that."

"Nonsense. You will not be spending a credit this solar. I am your guide, so I need to ensure you are prepared for wherever I may take you. And I will hear no argument on the matter." She said that as if the matter was settled.

"Caigal, that really isn't necessary," This didn't seem fair. She was taking time out of her day when I was sure she had other stuff she could be doing than showing me around.

However, that got a huff out of my guide, and before I knew it, she had placed a hand on my head. "I know you aren't hard of hearing. I said no arguments."

I let out a huff but let it slide. She was showing me around and taking me to this place, so I would let her win for now. If she ever visited Pyrovar, I would return the favor. "Fine,"

She seemed to almost smirk before she nodded and led the way. I'd let her enjoy the victory for now. I was sure there would be more challenges for me to win later. We walked into a shop off the main path five minutes later. Inside, about every fabric I could think of was used for water was there. While my practical mind said I should go with the best I could get without spending too much, I knew that, being a human, I would want a little bit of flair with my suit.

"Welcome. What can I do for you?" the cashier asked as I wandered the aisles.

It was strange how quiet it was before Caigal spoke up. "My friend is here to acquire a custom swimsuit. Give her whatever she may need."

Since the racks were taller than me, I wasn't surprised by the cashier's next question. "And when should I expect your friend?"

Popping my head around a corner, I waved toward them. "Sorry, I got distracted. My name's Lizzie Val. Nice to meet you."

The alien species I didn't recognize stared at me in surprise before he nodded. "And I am Espar. Any friend of Caigal is welcome here."

Wow, I didn't realize that Caigal knew the cashier personally. "Thanks! I think I need to look around a little more before I make my choice."

"Take your time," I heard him call out as I explored the options.

After about ten minutes, I decided on decent water able material in gunmetal gray and red and a sewing pattern that I thought would look nice on me without being too…flamboyant. "I think I'll go with these," I spoke up, drawing the two out of a conversation. "Do you need my measurements?"

To my surprise, Espar shook his head. "No, when you walked in, scanners on the entryway took a comprehensive scan of your body. Give my seamstresses about twenty minutes, and then we'll have you settled." He then glanced at Caigal. "I'm assuming this will be on your account?"

"Correct," She responded before she moved to me. I must have missed some signal because Espar immediately moved to the back with my items. Guess my stuff was getting the express treatment. "Espar is a psiar, another species inhabiting Eternia." She must have seen my curiosity about him. I didn't realize that they were from the same planet. But that made sense, given the familiarity between the two of them. "In ancient times, their home planet, whose name is lost to time, died. They came to Eternia as wanderers wanting a home. They gave that to the psiar in return for their loyalty to Eternia and its ruling family."

That was pretty cool. Thinking back on Earth, I didn't see us being that welcoming to an alien species so openly. It made me appreciate all of these species I was interacting with more and more. It gave me hope that one day, humanity would catch up to these fantastic beings and experience what I was. "Outside of whatever I need this swimsuit for, is there anywhere else we are going that I'll need a change of clothes?" I figured it would be safer to ask now, just in case we went outside the city and into the woods, which were still considered embassy lands. It would be a waste of time to go out there just to come back for more clothes if I just bring them with me.

"What you have now should suffice for the rest of our day. I wish you to see a few shops that don't open until later in the evening," Caigal responded as we continued to wait.

Remembering Farnak's warning from earlier, I felt like I needed to speak up. "I need to be back at my lodgings before nightfall. A party has rented one of the rooms and wishes for privacy. If I don't return on time, I'll have to figure out somewhere else to sleep."

Caigal grew a thoughtful look. "It should not take us long. However, should events take us past your curfew, I shall give you quarter for the night."

"Oh, thanks, Caigal. It would make things easier if I wasn't worried about returning on time." And I was grateful. However, that also made me nervous. I still wasn't sure about all my soliform did while I put it in sleep mode, and I didn't want it to give me away. While I had already beaten Skywarp's record, I wanted to see how close I could get to the seven days I gave myself. This way, it would be harder for someone to break the record I was setting as we spoke.

"You are welcome." She glanced up as movement came from the front. "Espar, you have finished?"

Moving to see the front, I was surprised that Espar was standing there with a swimsuit that would work. The primary color was silver with red accents, and while it was a one-piece, Espar had thrown in a matching pair of swimming shorts that I could wear over the suit. "It looks amazing!" I thanked the cashier as I was handed the suit.

It was weird being the shortest person around. While Caigal towered at nine and a half feet tall, Espar was about six and a half feet. Both were taller than my 5 foot eleven self. "There is a changing room that you may use to change." Espar offered while motioning to a door on the wall.

Nodding, I took the offered bag for my clothes and almost ran to it. It was amazing how well they got this swimsuit to fit. It was snug against my body without cutting into my skin. Honestly, it felt like a second skin. They could make bank on Earth if it were open for intergalactic exchanges. I threw back on my t-shirt that I was wearing along with my shoes before I put the rest of my clothes in the bag. Once I was sure it was secure, I walked back out and smiled at them. "Fits like a glove," I then looked to Caigal. "Are we ready to go?"

She gave one nod. "Thank you, Espar."

The two of us then left the store. As we moved toward the woods, I noticed curious eyes following us. Guess they weren't used to humans yet. Oh well. If I lasted the seven days I wanted, they would have time to get used to me. But it was kinda weird. While humans weren't common, some species around were similar to us. Why the hell did they have such a fascination with me right now?

After about a fifteen-minute walk, we arrived.

My eyes were wide as I watched labac of all shapes and sizes lining up underneath the mighty crash of a waterfall. I was guessing that they were using it as resilience training. That was pretty awesome. If I didn't know that the water would drag me under and drown me, I would volunteer to try it out. But, not only did I know that most humans couldn't survive that sort of pressure, but I wasn't sure how long the soliform would last under that same pressure. "This is amazing, Caigal. I don't think I would survive the waterfall, though."

"Do not fret," She spoke with humor in her voice. "I believe, however, that you and the psiar can interact safely with each other. Should you need me, though, you simply need to call."

I appreciated the thought but was sure I could care for myself. "Will do," I agreed before going over to the rapids the psiar were using to build strength. Once I was over to them, I smiled and waved. "Hi, the name's Lizzie. What's yours?"

The more masculine-looking one of the group came over and held out his hand. "I'm Estar. You wish to train with us?"

I gave a nod. "I would enjoy that if you all wouldn't mind."

He gave a nod, though he seemed distracted. "Good. I welcome those who wish to better themselves. We are currently working our legs and cores against the current to strengthen them. The further down the stream you venture, the stronger the current. Once you have reached your maximum resistance, try and hold your ground. Don't let it sweep you away."

This was clever training. I would have to see if there was any way to implement this among the Decepticons when I eventually returned home to Pyrovar. "Sounds like it should be beneficial," I responded to Estar before walking down the stream. Of course, I said stream lightly. The water, while only up to my knees at the beginning of the walk, was already making its way toward my upper thighs. This current was powerful. I had to make sure I didn't venture too far. Humans could only resist so much.

So, when I was at my waist, I stopped walking and let go of my thoughts. Just feeling the water move past my legs made me think of Earth. Of home. Of the days when mom and I would find a small creek and go hunting for minnows and crawdads. Laughing and playing in the mud was the life. While I wouldn't give up anything I had in this world now, I did miss mom.

You know what; maybe I would stay in soliform longer than the seven solars I wanted to. This kind of training, even in soliform, would only benefit me in the long run. I'm sure Sandstorm and Physis would understand.

Actually, nah. Physis would make his own soliform, which he would make known was a soliform, and drag me out of here.

My heart skipped a beat as I felt something knock into my legs and knock me over. Panic set in as I felt the current drag me down the river, and I tried to make myself get to the top. I needed air! How to get back? I knew there was a lesson during one of my swim classes to help me get back to the surface. Think!

I needed to sink! As strange as that was to remember, I once went on a water rapids tour with my school. The guide made it a point to say that if we were stuck in the current and couldn't breach the surface on our own, we were to sink lower where the currents shouldn't be as strong so we could get our bearings. Then, we could push off the ground and launch ourselves against the current to the surface.

So, I did just that.

When my head broke the water's surface, I gasped for air in relief. While I didn't need it, I still had the human instincts to appreciate being back in it. At this point, while the current was still pulling me, I felt like I could start swimming toward the shore. So, using another piece of information that the guide gave, I slowly started to swim sideways toward the shore. Just a little at a time so I wouldn't tire myself. That would teach me to pay better attention to my surroundings in the water. I had let myself relax too much in the experience, which almost cost me my soliform.

My heart rate jumped momentarily when a large hand grabbed me and removed me from the surface. Once whoever this was set me on land, I coughed a little water out of my soliform's lungs before I turned to see Caigal standing there. "Lizzie, are you alright?"

As I tried to reorient myself from that experience, I simply nodded and continued to try and get my focus back. Did I need to be tested every time I tried to relax on this planet? I was getting sick and tired of this. Maybe I would just stay in my room after all this was done?

"I am relieved to hear that," Caigal responded. "The psiar who caused you to fall in is being dealt with as we speak. One should not endanger the life of another during training. We enter a different state of mind during training and trust those around us not to interfere. You trusted the psiar, and that one broke that trust."

While I wanted to argue against it, I realized they didn't know I wasn't human. That meant what he did had to be treated with the same severity that it would have been if I had been human. I wouldn't want a human to have that happen to them. If I hadn't collected my thoughts when I did, and I was still human, that situation could have turned out a lot worse.

Plus, I already had one royal family in my debt because of what they accidentally did. I didn't need another one to find out. "As long as it stays between us here, I don't mind. I'm not going to be here for long, and I don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble that might make me have to stay longer."

Caigal looked hesitant for a moment before she nodded. "Very well. I shall also tell the others so word does not leave those of us here. Are you still wanting to train?"

Honestly, despite what happened, I did. So, I nodded. "Yeah, I was enjoying it before I went under. How much longer do you wish to stay here?"

She glanced toward the sun and stayed silent for a few moments. "Given your schedule, we will stay here for three more hours before we head into town. If you do decide to rest from training during that time, there is a small pool of water that will allow you to relax without getting into anyone's way while they train."

The two of us then walked back to the others. Honestly, I hadn't realized that my soliform had traveled so far down from where everyone else was training. I needed to stay better aware of my surroundings. Once we returned, the atmosphere was tense for a few moments as I reset myself. However, after a few moments, the other psiars focused on their training as I kept up with mine.

We did end up staying for three hours, and during that time, I went to the pool four times to take breaks from the training. What Caigal hadn't mentioned was that the pool was essentially a hot spring. It was hard to get out to return to training when I did. I needed to come back here during my stay on Vestium Major.

Once we were back in town, we wandered around for a few more hours, looking at different odds-and-end shops. They were interesting, and I picked up a few knickknacks to keep as souvenirs.

However, as we stood in front of the last shop, I felt a smile spread on my face. It was a weaponsmith shop. I hadn't seen any on my tours outside of the embassy here, and now I knew what I would suggest for those times. If the craftmanship was half as good as I saw on display here, I wanted to order a dagger or two as extra weapons.

As we walked into the store, I let my thoughts go back to when I entered the Ethosian Embassy the other solar. The guard didn't believe I only had my swords and shoulder cannons. It got to the point of arguing that he had a medic come over just to scan my systems and subspace to ensure I wasn't hiding anything.

I wasn't.

But that made me realize that I needed more weapons on servo in case something happened. While sturdy, my swords always stood the chance of breaking, and, as my only melee weapons, I would need backups in case of confrontation. Perhaps the owner of this shop could make me a recommendation about who to go to about swords for my actual self.

"These look amazing," I said out loud as I looked at a longsword on display. It wasn't the prettiest-looking sword in here. Honestly, it seemed pretty simplistic. However, I could see how well it was crafted and how secure the fittings were to all parts. The being who made this cared about their work. The only flare of design I could see was some etching down the center of the sword in the labac language…which I could not read yet. Maybe I could ask Caigal what it said?

"The breath of life comes from the fallen." I jumped and turned to see Caigal standing next to a labac who was about a foot taller than she was. He had scars littering the parts of his body that I could see, including a noticeable one on his right jaw. "I don't believe we have met. I am Garl. Caigal asked me the other solar if I could make time to show you my work. I'm glad to see I could impress."

Dang, Caigal knew a lot of beings around here. She was more social than I gave her credit for. "And I am Lizzie. I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet you." The two of us shook hands, and I noticed his were quite calloused before I motioned back to the sword I was looking at. "It is well crafted."

He nodded. "It is one of my better works, though I am impressed that you noticed. Most would see the simplicity in the weapon and ignore it. Do you have a liking for forging weapons?"

Not me, but there was a spirit who I knew would read me the riot act when I got to Pyrovar, who did. "I have a friend who is slightly obsessed with it. Made sure I knew whatever information he had on it."

"He sounds like someone I would like to meet," Garl responded before he motioned behind the counter. "Now, let's go and look at my forge. I'm sure there are some projects that you would be interested in."

I smiled and followed him.

Caigal's 1st P.O.V.

I let out a sigh as I stared at the human. We had spent much more time at Garl's than I had planned, and it had been dark by the time we finished. Since she had not been able to return to her lodgings, I had offered her a place to sleep at one of the homes my family used here. I felt guilty when I realized I had gone over her time, but she had accepted the terms we had now. Of course, I had not wanted her to sleep on the couch. There was a guest room that she should have stayed in. However, the human had been insistent in her demands to rest here. So, I retrieved a light blanket for her, and surprisingly, she was asleep almost immediately.

It was impressive and worrisome to let her guard down so much around someone she had just met.

I had yet to inform the human of the entire story about what happened at the training falls. Not only had the psiar forced her to fall, but he had also used his psionic abilities to force her further down the river. When Estar saw the situation, he thankfully called my attention while he worked to subdue the attacker. Humans seemed so frail that I feared I would reach her too late. That her broken body would be found floating down the river.

Instead, I was impressed that, when I reached her, she had made her way to the water's surface and was well on her way back to the shore. Once I helped her out of the water and we returned, I was surprised that she wanted to show the attacker leniency. Of course, she didn't know her attacker's malicious intent behind his actions. She probably saw it as a prank gone wrong. But, even if that were the case, all those who trained knew never to interfere with others who were training.

So, I contacted my father and informed him of the situation. I also told him of the human's wishes and that he should not let that information reach the human if he wished to pursue the matter further. From my interactions with Lizzie, I was coming to learn of the empathetic capabilities of the race. It was staggering.

Of course, I was glad I could read the human correctly concerning where she might like to visit. Once Garl's shop had come into view, it was easy to read how excited the human had become. Garl was one of the best weapon smiths on Vestium Major and regularly completed orders for organic and mechano organisms.

Having Lizzie here meant I had to miss the meeting that father had set up. That was another thing I had kept from the human. Father's meeting was why she had that curfew in the first place. He needed to meet with his war council away from the embassy to discuss the current worry.

The soliform.

When we heard that the Decepticon guest of Lord Dawnbreaker wished to try the soliform challenge, father was amused. Decepticons, for the most part, only lasted a few cycles on the trial. Skywarp, who had the current soliform record, had lasted two days. And that had worried father greatly.

This femme was past her third day and about to enter her fourth.

To say that this concerned father and the war council was a gross understatement. He had even made sure the medics and doctors watching her chassis as she was in this state confirmed that she had not left her soliform. Since she had not, she was blending in almost seamlessly with us. It was terrifying to think. Despite all of the struggles reported and news from the Cybertronian Civil War told to us, the Decepticons had continued with their research. We needed to determine what kind of improvements they made to the system and determine who could implement these changes.

I had spoken with the heir of Pova, Sharpstreak, in an official state the morning the femme started the challenge to ascertain what he might be able to tell me. While I did not trust the mech, I did not want to risk bias from Lord Dawnbreaker's family, given their situation with said femme. Sharpstreak said that the femme was prideful, and he doubted she would even last an hour, let alone this long.

It was safe to say that he had grossly miscalculated the Decepticon.

Of course, that was partially the reason she was on Vestium Major to begin with. We had only come to Vestium Major because Lord Dawnbreaker sent a summons due to a delicate situation. When we arrived, father met with Lord Dawnbreaker and brought back a copy of the footage about what happened. Seabreaker and Firebrand jumped to conclusions about the femme and didn't bother to check all sources of communication and had the femme shot down.

When I saw the footage with the war council, I was amazed that the femme could take such a beating and be operational this soon after. It seemed impossible. Of course, with a chaos-centered god like Murav watching over us, I was ready to accept what I saw. I lived my life prepared for the unexpected, and that was what this femme seemed to embody. The fact that she was even conscious enough to berate the scouting team that found her was a show of strength and fortitude that we did not see often.

Father had been arranging a chance to meet with the femme when this challenge came forward.

With one more glance at Lizzie, I went to my room. Between the human and the hidden soliform, the embassy was experiencing more than it had in ages. Once the soliform revealed herself, I wanted to introduce her to Lizzie. From how Lizzie acted, I felt they would get along well.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

Okay, this was enough. As I made the bed at the beginning of the eighth day since I started the soliform challenge, I knew a week was enough. They deserved to know. Honestly, what brought it to a head was the fight that Caigal had to break up last night due to the soliform not being found. We had been having a light dinner at a cafe when two labac had started to argue. They were a part of the task force that had been made to find me. I'm not sure what they were arguing about, but I heard the word 'soliform' enough to know that this was partially my fault.

I couldn't let my new friend shoulder that sort of responsibility. While she had no reason to do so, Caigal seemed to take issues among the labac and psiar seriously and stepped in whenever she could. Since she did, I knew I needed to turn myself in.

My stuff was already packed, and I just wanted to make my bed before taking my key to Farnak for checkout. I knew he would be surprised at my leaving, but I had spent enough time here. Plus, I had training to get started and checkups to go to, and I knew that Sandstorm and Physis would only let me miss those for so long. This added up to the best time to leave.

Once the bed was made, I moved my backpack, which I had instead of a suitcase, onto my back before I grabbed my key and left the room. The wood beneath my feet creaked slightly as I descended each step. This was it. For this trip, at least, this would be the last time I would walk down these stairs. Once I was back on Pyrovar for a while, and if Lord Megatron needed a representative to come here again, I would be more than willing.

"Are you leaving?" Farnak asked as I turned the corner for the main hall.

Nodding, I placed my key and my last payment on the table. "Yeah, it's time for me to move on. I have a few errands to make in town before I go. I am glad I get to say goodbye to you, though," I responded before smiling. "It was great to meet you, Farnak. I hope our paths cross again."

"And you were hells of a guest girl. If you ever find yourself in this sector again, stop by," Farnak responded.

"Will do, Farnak," I agreed before leaving, waving goodbye as I walked out the doors.

I jumped with a start when I saw Caigal standing before me. Weird. I thought that she had something going on today? Well, this would help save me time in saying goodbye to her. "You are leaving?" She asked in surprise.

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been here too long and need to keep moving. I was hoping to run into you before I left, though. I wanted to say goodbye personally. You've been a great friend while I have been here. If we cross paths again, I would like to meet up."

She stared at me in shock and what looked like indecision for a few seconds before she relaxed her shoulders. "Before you go, Lizzie, I need to tell you something. There is something that I have been hiding from you. But I can't say it out here. I need you to come and meet my father."

Meet her father? What secret was she hiding that she needed me to meet him? Of course, she wasn't the only one keeping a secret. You know what? Frag it. Once I met Caigal's father, I would tell them before I told Emperor Thav. "Very well. But, there is something you should know as well," She looked down at me in surprise as we moved through the now familiar streets. "I've been keeping a secret as well. I hope you'll understand why I did once we meet your father."

Caigal studied me for a few seconds before she looked forward. "Everyone has their secrets that they keep. You had a right to yours just like I had the right to mine. It only seems fair that we trade them before you leave."

Of course, as we walked, I had to resist the urge to say that I would not be leaving in the sense that she was thinking because of this.

After we walked for about twenty minutes, I started to grow confused as we moved toward the main Embassy building…where the higher families of the labac stayed while they were on Vestium Major. That included their ambassador Galcan, the war council, and the Emperor's family. Just who was Caigal's father? Since I had read in the records that Galcan had no family, she had to be related to one of the members of Emperor Thav's war council.

Shit.

Well, at least it wasn't another ruling family.

While I wanted to ask her what I was about to walk into, she looked as nervous as I felt. Well, as nervous as I had seen her, at least. I guess she wasn't used to having people meet her father, whoever he was. Or, they had met him, and it didn't go well. Either way, it wasn't looking good for me. Hopefully, I could impress her father.

In a self-conscious moment I hadn't had in a while, I glanced down at what I was wearing and shuddered. Jeans and a T-shirt. Great. Just great. This was Caigal's dad, and I would meet him like I was going to the store. He was an important official, and I would meet him dressed like I would to play in the mud. As we entered the actual building for the embassy, I let out a breath to calm myself down. I would be fine. Caigal would have told me to change if she was worried about how I would look to her father.

When the doors opened, I was impressed at this room. It had to be a main reception room. However, it was mostly empty of other beings. The only other one in here with us was causing me to panic internally. The labac in front of us was not the ambassador or one of the war council members. And I had a feeling, given Caigal's current relaxed state, that this was her father.

Emperor Thav.

"Daughter, I thought you had business in the city today?" He spoke with a deep yet soft voice. Much different than I pictured for him in both the capacity of Caigal's father and as the Emperor.

Caigal nodded and motioned to me. "I did. However, my friend is leaving today, and I wished her to meet you before she left." She then nudged me forward a little. It took all of my willpower not to turn back and glare at her. "Lizzie, this is Thav; Emperor of Eternia and my father."

The Emperor was focused on me as Caigal gave her introduction of him. "If you are a friend of Caigal's, then I am honored. She does not make friends outside of the labac and psiar easily."

What the hell was I supposed to say to that? Thankfully, Caigal realized that I technically needed to be introduced to her father. "Father, this is,"

"Thav!"

We all jumped as a group of six labac and psiars that seemed attached to each of them burst through a set of doors to my left. Oh shit. Please don't let this be anything weird. Please. Wasn't the attempted murder I already faced punishment enough?

Emperor Thav, on his part, turned and gave the group of labac a sharp look. "Car'ular, do you not see I am in a meeting with my daughter? What sort of emergency brings you barrelling in here as an ill-tempered war beast might?" He didn't look happy. Something told me that this would be going a lot worse if I wasn't here.

One of the labac in the center, who I assumed was Car'ular, spoke after they came to a stop. "The situation has gone on long enough. It is obvious to this council that you do not have a handle on this soliform situation. We see that you have not prepared the labac well enough to handle this level of infiltration."

"Caigal, remove your guest for the moment. It seems some unexpected business has come forward." Emperor Thav ordered Caigal.

While I could see Caigal looking hesitant, she obeyed her father and led me out of the room. As we left, though, I felt a pang of guilt. This was my fault. I needed to make this right and quickly. However, I also wanted to play this smartly. That council member just challenged Emperor Thav's capabilities, and he was my friend's father. I could not let that insult stand.

Once the doors were shut behind us, Caigal glanced down at me. "Stay here, Lizzie. My father needs my support."

Before she could move, I reached out and held onto her arm. She jumped in surprise since I had never done anything like that before. "Then we need to do this right. Your father being the emperor was kind of a surprise, but not nearly as much of a surprise as my secret is. Honestly, I would have told you before if I knew the trouble I was causing you all with my secret."

"What are you saying, Lizzie? Be quick. My father is alone in there right now, and I must get to him with the best support I can." Caigal urged.

Nodding, I motioned to myself. As I spoke, I let the soliform program flicker. "I am the soliform."

Her face immediately dropped in shock at that. Of course, I couldn't blame her. Decepticon soliforms were on a new plane of technology that the rest of the universe had never experienced. "You…that can't be. You ate. You slept. You even needed to relieve your bodily waste."

I shook my head. "Recent conflicts forced us to focus on expanding the capabilities of the soliform program. You just saw me flicker the soliform. You know what I am saying is the truth. And since you never formally introduced me to your father, let's use that to our advantage and show these council members the folly of uprising." I then motioned to the doors with a smirk on my face. "Shall we?"

The smirk she gave back to me was one of the most terrifying sights I had ever seen…and I had seen a lot. "Yes. We shall. I would love to see the looks on their faces. We shall keep your identity a secret until the right moment, and then we shall bring the hammer down upon our foe." I nodded before she reopened the doors, and we walked back.

And it seemed we were right on time. Both the Emperor and his challengers looked tense. Something must have happened. "And what is your demand of me?" Thav questioned Car'ular.

The labac in question didn't hesitate to speak. "You have until the end of the solar to present the soliform before us. If you do not, you will have failed as a leader of the labac, and we will take your position from you. Forcefully if needed."

This was it. They gave us the perfect opening.

Thankfully, Caigal saw the opportunity as well. "Then it is good that I have decided to forgo my father's wishes to stay outside." Everyone jumped as we reentered the fray. I had to wonder what was going on while we were gone.

"Caigal, why have you returned with the human? I will not have innocent blood spilled in these halls this day." It made me happy that Emperor Thav was reacting this way. It gave me hope about what would come when humans eventually moved away from Earth and into the stars.

Caigal, with confidence, nodded once. "Of course, father. However, it seemed to be in bad faith to give your introduction to my friend and not do the same for her." Then, before he could intervene, Caigal motioned to me. "Father, this is Lizzie Val, the human soliform of the Decepticon Pandimala."

The silence that filled the room was deafening.

Well, at least it was for a few moments before Car'ular finally snapped himself out of shock. "Lies! Such blatant lies from one's house is a sign of disgrace!" He then removed a war hammer that was stored on his back.

"No lie has been told here," Caigal growled, taking a large blade from one of her side sheaths. "And I would take care how you approach your next words, Car'ular. Otherwise, I may not be able to keep decorum in front of our guest,"

Instead of thinking about what he was instigating, the labac almost sneered at me. "The one beside you proves the lies you tell. The human has been seen bleeding lifeforce that was not energon as well as taking in organic food." As he spoke this, I started to let go of my soliform programming. Behind me, I sensed someone moving, most likely the psiar with Car'ular. Hopefully, I could shut down the more advanced aspects of the soliform program before he made a move.

However, that hope didn't quite come fast enough as I gasped in shock. Blood came from my soliform as a blade stuck through it. While I hadn't been able to turn off the bleeding aspect of the soliform, I at least was able to stop the dying element that the soliform possessed. To help with any covers we needed, we had an addition of the soliform program stay active, but lifeless, for an hour before it would disengage. Thankfully, I had stopped that part of mine before the blade struck. That would have made this situation even worse.

"See, the human bleeds!" A different labac, obviously encouraged by my bleeding, stood next to Car'ular more noticeably now. However, the other instigators looked hesitantly toward me. I guess they noticed that I hadn't fallen to the ground dead yet. Good on them. Not so good that they were a part of this, but at least they were more cautious about what was going on now.

It made me wonder how Car'ular convinced them to start this coup in the first place.

"You fiends!" Caigal snarled.

I noticed that she was getting into a position to attack, so I reached out a hand to her. "There is no need for that, Caigal. As you can see, I'm just fine. I just couldn't remove the lifeforce imitator we placed in our soliform program. I wanted to remove the dying aspect first just in case something like this happened."

After I pulled the blade out of my back, I turned to face everyone and noticed that Car'ular and the other labac that stepped forward, along with their psiars, looked petrified. "Lizzie, are you sure you're fine?" Emperor Thav asked. At this point, I noticed that he had a large blade in his hand.

Awe, they had been ready to avenge me. I was definitely visiting again.

Back to his question, though. "I am fine, Emperor Thav. The blood is simulated programming that we developed. The gasp is an automatic simulated response. Our soliforms use our pain receptors to analyze the supposed damage so we can mimic how the pain would cause us to react if it had been real." As I directed the programming to repair the damage, I smiled. "I do apologize for the trouble my soliform has caused you. I did not intend to cause such strife as a visitor to your embassy."

And I didn't. Frag, I didn't want to even think about the political trouble I was in right now. Hopefully, we could keep this as quiet as we could. While I felt guilty, I knew this was a part of their embassy and training. The Decepticons had just exploited a weakness in their training that they hadn't realized was there. So, in a sense, I could technically have the labac owe me for this. Honestly, I could have stayed a soliform longer if I wasn't so worried about how Physis or Sandstorm would react if I tried to stay longer.

"Impressive," Emperor Thav spoke. "You do not need to apologize, Lizzie. We should have been prepared for advancements in the soliform program and adjusted our search to that."

To my surprise, Caigal then jumped in. "Yes. Now that I have had time to think about our experiences this week, I can see moments that should have told me you were a soliform. However, my unfamiliarity with the species you currently are prevented me from addressing those concerns."

Emperor Thav nodded at that. "I will learn from Caigal what I must. I believe you are needed back with the rest of Vestium Major. From what Physis and Sandstorm have relayed, you have training to get to along with your continued healing." He then glanced at the group, who all now looked worried. "And it seems that I have a new war council to form. Caigal, please see your friend out. Upon your return, you will still have your place on my war council."

Caigal nodded, and while the curious side of me wanted to watch the inevitable beatdown that was about to happen, I knew that I was enough of a mess politically. I didn't need to add this as well. Once we were outside the doors, Caigal turned to me. "Do you wish to deactivate your program now or once we go outside?"

While I wanted to spend more time with Caigal, I knew she would be needed back by her father's side, and I needed to return as soon as possible. "Here should be fine," I answered before I smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Caigal. I am sorry to have misled you during this."

She shook her head. "No. I saw your honesty back then as I see it now. Just because you were in hiding as a soliform doesn't mean you changed your personality. You are my friend now that I know that you are the Decepticon Pandimala as you were as the human Lizzie. We will have to meet more often now."

"Agreed," I then realized that Farnak should be told who I was. "Oh, and I do have a favor to ask."

"What is it? I shall try to accomplish it if it is within my power."

"Can you tell Farnak that I was the soliform? This morning, I decided I didn't want to give myself away before talking to the Emperor and you. Well, the Emperor part was only once I learned that he is your father." I asked.

Caigal nodded. "I will see to it. Stay safe, Pandimala, and trust your instincts. They are there for a reason."

"Stay safe as well, Caigal, and thank you. For everything." I spoke back before I let go of the soliform program completely.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

It was time to get off of my aft and move my recovery along. While a few of my joints were still stiff from the healing they were doing, I was finally ready to join the training here. I would be one step closer to returning to my Lord. It had been over three weeks since I had arrived here, and those were three weeks that I should have been moving to Pyrovar. If none of this had happened, I would have made it to Pyrovar and reunited with my Lord. I could have fulfilled my promise to return to him.

But there was no use in thinking about what could have been. Not when I had training to get started. So, I made sure that my swords were in my subspace before I moved to the door. On the other side, Seabreaker was waiting for me. "Ready to go?" Thank the Allspark that he had relaxed some since our last excursion together. It was already easy to see just how relaxed he was around me. Well, more comfortable. He wasn't quite at the point Grinchain was, but that was fine. Grinchain seemed to surpass my expectations in more ways than one.

"Ready," I responded before following the mech down the familiar halls. While I still gathered stares as I walked by bots, there weren't nearly as many as there were before. For better or worse, I became a regular part of their solars. At least that would keep the stares down to a minimum.

As we walked, and Seabreaker spoke about some things he was excited to see at the Fair, I let my optics wander at the sights around me. There were more bots than there were before my trial at the Eternia Embassy. This Advancement Fair was more popular than I thought it would be. I'd have to see what sort of information I could learn. Everything I learned here would benefit my Lord once I returned to him. Plus, I could have some fun as well. I'm sure that would help my recovery, getting me closer to returning home and getting Physis off my backplates.

"Of course, with Wern participating, this stellar everybot is on edge," I snapped back my focus to Seabreaker as I heard him mention one of the other members of the Galactic Alliance.

"Why would that put everybot on edge?" While I had read that there were tensions between Alliance members, I couldn't find out which members had problems with which.

As we continued to move, Seabreaker answered. "Well, let me start with this: Who are the main member planets?"

That was easy. It was one of the first things I researched. "They are Vestium Major, New Quintessa, Antiga Prime, Hydrus IV, Dendron Beta, Pova, and Wern."

"Correct. And their subordinate planets?"

I felt like I was in class right now. But this got me the answer I wanted, so I continued. "Ethos and Eternia are under Vestium Major. Rotan, Tixlara, Vrol and Zull are under New Quintessa. Pangar, Gor, Soror, and Druida are under Antiga Prime. Eskabar, Airlandia, Jabbio, Koratus, Ganzvort, and Telezart fall under Hydrus IV. Energoa, Ork, Hyneria, New Avalon, and Giedi Prime fall under Dendron Beta. Thundera, Mongo, Leida, Tasmos, and Bedlam fall under Pova. Finally, Thra, Majipoor, Stoggos, Fara, and Ploor fall under Wern." It had taken me a while to memorize all those planets, but I didn't want to upset the wrong world if I could help it.

"Perfect," He then continued. "Majipoor, about thirty solars ago, claimed that Ethos sent in a black-ops unit and destroyed a large shipment of energon they needed. Of course, Ethos didn't, but the real culprits were never caught. That has put Wern on edge with us for a while now. With that, Wern has been gathering allies among the member planets in case this situation worsens."

Well, at least I was learning about this before it became a problem. Being ahead of the situation would be better than every other problem I had during my stay. And that would help with talks I knew I would be dragged to. But, I needed to know which planets were allied with which during this trouble so I could make sure I spoke to the correct bots correctly if I wanted to get this alliance with Vestium Major that I wanted.

"So, who is allied with who in this situation right now?" I asked.

Seabreaker seemed to think for a nano before he answered. "I'll just tell you the member planets' alliances in this because any subordinate planet is going to take the side of their leading planet." He then let out a vent. "For now, Hydrus IV is trying to stay out of this conflict, which I don't blame them for. If we weren't in the middle of this, I would want to stay out of it, too. Pova and Anitga Prime have allied with us, while New Quintessa and Dendron Beta are allying with Wern."

From all my information, I knew that New Quintessa would be an enemy of ours regardless of how we approached them. It was no secret that they felt all Cybertronians were theirs to rule over by right. They would try to garner that 'right' whenever they thought they might get away with it. Honestly, though, I doubted they would show up here for this directly. As far as I knew, no bot knew just how high up the chain of command I technically was because of my courting status with Lord Megatron. Also, given my presence on Earth during the negotiations, I was automatically ranked higher than most other Decepticons, outside of a select few who weren't on Earth.

No, something told me that I was part of why we were seeing Wern's presence here soon. New Quintessa wanted to gauge my receptiveness to being placed under them without risking their political movements. That left me wondering how they had convinced Wern to do so.

From what I had read of the member states, mechano-centric planets had the slight majority of the seven being Vestium Major, New Quintessa, Pova, and Wern. Hydrus IV, Anitga Prime, and Dendron Beta are organic-based worlds. Of course, almost none of those worlds were exclusively one or the other outside of New Quintessa due to its harsher atmosphere and environment. However, most species that were the majority species were usually the ruling party. From what I researched with Grinchain, that was how it was.

There was something that Seabreaker just said, though, that made me curious. "What do you mean by 'for now'? Do you expect the alliances to change?"

He shook his helm. "No. Just…be careful in there. One of the bots undergoing triple-changer training is Sharpstreak, heir to the Pova throne. And if you think that Firebrand is bad, you haven't seen anything yet. Sharpstreak is damaged wiring bundled up in a metal casing. I've told Firebrand about how Sharpstreak sneaks around and talks to…less favorable beings than he thinks. But, Firebrand has been stressing so much about all of this, including your situation, believe it or not, that his helm is up his aft."

He was right. I didn't believe him about Firebrand. Not one bit. But I had heard similar things from Grinchain and Lightbeam, so I would wait and see. But, it would take a significant change in attitude for me to change my processor on him. However, miracles happen every solar, so this could be one of them.

Once the training center came into view, I looked back at Seabreaker. "Thanks for getting me here. When are you picking me up again?"

The mech paused for a nano before he spoke. "You're supposed to take it lightly, so I'd say you should be done in five cycles. That will put us at three cycles past mid-solar, giving you time to go and meet with Lord Oryax as you all scheduled. Do you want me in that meeting with you?"

Since Oryax was an ally of Vestium Major, I felt like I could be alone for this. "I should be alright. If that meeting goes well, we can take some time to check out the lake. I'm always up for a nice swim."

I laughed at the dumbfounded look on the mech's faceplate before he shook his helm. "Alright. I'll check on the preparations for the Fair. Don't give Sandstorm too much trouble. Alright?"

"Me? Trouble? I don't know the meaning…" I drifted off at the knowing look that came from Seabreaker as I tried to tease him. Yeah, I guess with all of the trouble I had been in here so far, he wouldn't let me even try that. "You know, you aren't fun when you don't let me finish the sentence."

"Neither is the panic you put every being in with your trouble. I talked to Caigal, the other solar, about your antics while you were in soliform. She had some interesting things to say." His servos were on his hips, and an optic ridge raised as he spoke. "How can you shuffle so many platings and still be standing?"

"Luck?"

He let out a laugh at that. "You? Lucky?"

I held up my servos at that. "Hey, I didn't say it was good luck. Just luck in general."

Seabreaker looked to be thinking about that before he shrugged. "Fair enough," He then made a shooing motion. "Now get inside. Sandstorm has been unbearable waiting for you. Guess you impressed him the other solar during the situation with Grinchain."

"Not only that," I jumped slightly as a new voice joined us. Turning, I saw Sandstorm standing in the doorway with a studying look on his faceplate. "But for anybot to last that long in the Eternia challenge, especially a triple-changer, is more than impressive."

I let out a laugh at that. "Careful there, Sandstorm, or you will stoke my ego."

"Trust me; it won't be that way for long. As you heal, your training will push you more and more," Sandstorm looked to Seabreaker. "I'll take her from here. This solar should be short, so be back in about four cycles. We will do some basics to see where she is at."

Seabreaker nodded and left. When I turned to focus on Sandstorm, though, he looked concerned. "There's more, isn't there?"

He nodded as we walked inside. "I asked you here to start during everybot else's two-cycle break to go over some…unusual things with you." Unusual? That made me worried. I knew there were holes in the front I was giving everybot here. I wasn't lying per se, but I was not being as informative as possible, even to Physis. Something told me that, sooner or later, that might come back to haunt me.

However, back to the mech who would be my trainer, "What sort of 'things'?" I pushed as we moved through the halls.

"I spoke to Physis about what I should expect in training you, and he mentioned that you had never even heard of snaps before. I know a few Decepticons went through the training with varying results. Word should have reached you if you were near anybot who knew one. While they had training before the war, it isn't some hidden subject."

Oof, right to the details of it. Well, time to spin this the best I can without outright lying. "I am fairly new to the Decepticons, and before that, I was sheltered…I didn't know much about anything, for a fact, until I ventured out and found the Decepticons." It wasn't a lie, but it didn't tell the whole fragging story.

But, while I was starting to trust the beings here on Vestium Major, I wasn't ready to spill all my secrets to them. I wasn't sure how they would take everything. Or even how they would treat me. Right now, I held their respect. But some of the information about me might change that. It had undoubtedly terrified Iussa at first when I went off on her. Femme quickly changed her plans for controlling me when I fought against her power.

"I see," From the hesitation in his vocals, he didn't sound like he completely believed me. But I had a feeling he wouldn't question it for now.

Guess I should fill in a little to keep the suspicion away from me. "If it helps, once Physis told me about 'snaps', I researched them, and I think there might have been one time when I snapped. But, it wasn't quite like the books described them."

Sandstorm opened a door and led us into a large arena. Thankfully, the room was empty, so I could continue speaking openly. I didn't need everybot and their creators to know what caused my only snap to date. "That's good to hear. Every triple-changer should snap at least once. If they come to my training before that happens or are unsure of what caused it, I push them until we cause one to figure that out. Ninety-five percent of the time, those snaps stem from pride. As triple-changers, we tend to see all the ways we are 'superior' to others, which gets into our helms. When that 'superiority' is challenged, we lash out. My snaps, of which I haven't had any in millions of stellars, were caused by this. Astrotrain, Blitzwing, and Octane, who at one point were or are fellow Decepticons of yours, had this same sort of trigger."

"So, they all went through this too?" 

"Blitzwing did. Astrotrain and Octane…we had issues. They were here at the same time as Blitzwing, and there was an…incident." If I couldn't get the story during my stay here, I would have to ask Blitzwing when I made it to Pyrovar. He was the only one of those three still among the ranks of the Decepticons and would answer me if I asked him. "But enough about that. You said you think you know what caused your snap?" We had reached the center of the field at this point and stopped.

I made a so-so motion with my servo at that. "I know what happened that time. The underlying issue that situation presented not so much." I then hesitated. Some of this information I was keeping away from Vestium Major for now. If they discovered I was on Earth, they might connect me to events I didn't want them to know about yet. "Given the nature of that specific situation, I can't give you names or a location where it happened, but you shouldn't need that."

He studied me again before he shook his helm. "Most likely, no. I've only had one case as a trainer where an individual instead of a situation caused a snap. If it sounds similar, I will need more information to work with you."

Fair enough. But, hopefully, that wouldn't be necessary. While Thurst had caused my snap last time, I was sure it wasn't just because of him that I snapped. That much I was sure of. "Very well. I was on a ship with other Decepticons, not all of them as honest as one would like. One, in particular, sought me out as I was training and in a bad mood. He thought I would be swayed into helping him with a plot that would go against what the Decepticons believed. When he tried to pressure me into being his pawn in this plan…I think that was when I snapped. I lost awareness of everything and did not stop trying to remove him as a threat, even when ordered to stand down." That part still stung a bit. I had been oblivious to Lord Megatron's orders when they should have been my driving force. Instead, I had to be put into forced recharge like some rabid beast. "I had to be held by a big bot while I was sedated. When I woke up, I was unsure what had happened until I was told what I did."

Surprisingly, he didn't look upset at that. Instead, he looked thoughtful. "And what did you do?"

I felt pride I knew I probably shouldn't when I thought about the mess that I left Thrust in. "I tried to offline him. That consisted of throwing him around and trying to remove his helm by sanding it down against the wall."

That got a reaction out of him. "That seems a little extreme. But that does tell me you will need to be watched during training. I'm not sure if it was because you were challenged or because something you believed was challenged that you snapped. We will start that during our next session." He then took out a blade, prompting me to take out one of my own. "For now, let's see just what training you have picked up."

I smiled quickly before I charged forward.

Caigal's 1st P.O.V.

It was relatively quiet. Of course, father had yet to replace his war council, so this war meeting was just between us. While there were a few candidates here at the Embassy that father wanted to look at, I knew more of his choices for the new war council were back on Eternia. While I knew the war council was flawed, I was surprised they made their move so quickly and on the soliform of everything. It wasn't a high-priority mission, and they had to know that if word got back to the soliform, they might turn themselves in. And that was what happened. If they knew it would happen, it probably happened faster than they planned.

Of course, I hadn't realized how close she was until she told me.

Pandimala had blended flawlessly into our society, even as a species rare away from human-populated worlds. Once Pandimala had gone, I traveled to the archive and pulled up all the information I could on the species. While the species seemed frail, the challenges they overcame daily to survive were incredible. Perhaps in the next fifty or so years, we could start introducing their more secluded planets to the galactic scale of the universe. Pandimala had shown they could blend in among other species.

Even though there had been a few moments where I might have suspected she could be the soliform, they weren't as evident as I made it sound to the instigators the other day. After my research, that became even less so. Most of the things I saw that would have been questioned were what regular humans did.

And thoughts like that caused me to call my father for a war council meeting. This would be an official meeting until one of us said otherwise. There were things about Pandimala that weren't adding up. And while I still considered her my friend, as a member of my father's war council, they were points that needed to be addressed.

"Caigal, your message said that you were concerned about Pandimala. In what way?" My father asked as he sat down across from me.

I let out a breath before I motioned to the report that was filed on her soliform challenge. "It was her soliform."

"It was quite incredible. We weren't even aware that soliforms could be made to do that." He sounded just as impressed as when we were working on this report.

Nodding, I continued. "Yes, but the advancements aren't what have me worried. How she acted is causing me to suspect more is at work."

His eyes narrowed slightly in thought, and he sat up straighter. "What do you mean, Caigal?"

I pulled out some more files on soliforms we had witnessed in the past before setting them in front of him. "While they only lasted a few cycles, some of these soliforms acted decently, trying to be organic. They sometimes stepped away to relieve themselves and acted like they were eating. Of course, the food is found later, and someone following them to where they disappeared usually gave it away. But Pandimala never seemed to act unusual. She knew that most organics don't have set times to do either of those options. And then there was the incident at the training falls."

At my mention of the incident, father seemed to tense. Strange. What was that about? "That reminds me, I need to speak to you about that Caigal."

That was strange. When I fully reported the incident to him, he said he would speak to the psiar about what he did. When I hadn't heard anything from my father, I thought it was finished. But, from how he was speaking, there was more at play. "In such a panic-inducing situation as she was in, most soliforms don't know what to do. The one that fell down the slope didn't react to it. Pandimala reacted just like I would expect an organic to. When I saw her, she was breaching the water's surface, and I heard her gasp for breath. That's not a reaction you can train yourself to have. And then, she knew how to swim in the water to shore. Like she had trained to do so before."

"Both not regular teaching topics," Father agreed with a concerned look. "While mechano-beings interact with us, and well in many situations, they don't grasp those concepts. They do not need to breathe. Why would she instinctively try to when she breached the water? And few planets have currents powerful enough to cause someone her size to struggle against the currents." He then picked up the profile we had on Pandimala and stared at it. "There is something more to her than she is telling us. I'll have intelligence try to find out more about her." He then motioned to me. "Discreetly, of course."

I appreciated that. While she was hiding something about herself, I still considered her my friend, and I wasn't sure how she would react if she knew that we were looking into her. "Thank you, father." I was about to get up and leave when I remembered that he had more to say about the training falls incident. "What did you wish to speak about on the training falls incident, father?"

Father leaned back against his seat before he spoke. "That is something we need to speak on off the record for now." I was surprised when he put the room in dark mode. No signals would leave or come into this room while we talked. What had father so worried about this incident that he didn't want to leave us? He had been free to speak about Pandimala with the recordings going. And that seemed like a serious conversation. Just what had been started back then?

"Father?" I questioned him to get him to start talking.

It seemed like father physically aged twenty years in the span of a few seconds before he answered me. "I went and spoke to Prophus the solar Pandimala left us. He found it amusing that I disbanded my war council when I needed them the most. I asked him what he meant about that, and he laughed. The psiar laughed for a few moments before he answered me. He admitted that he was hired to cause trouble for Eternia with other powers. He saw the human, a rarity away from their settlements, as the perfect opportunity to start. Followed her around and felt the training area was the perfect place to strike."

"And it would have been," I agreed with him. "With so many of us around her, and if she would have been human, her death could have had repercussions for us. Many repercussions."

"If it were only that, I wouldn't be concerned. He let slip that whoever hired him wasn't finished yet and that Eternia was just a piece of the plan." I felt my blood go cold when I heard those words. This was the start of a major attack, and we had no idea who could be behind it. "I have a meeting with Lord Dawnbreaker and Lord Oryax later this evening to discuss this. They will keep their audios open and try to learn more about what this mysterious being is planning."

"What would you wish for me to do in the meantime?" I wanted to help. I needed to. If this attack was as broad as father believed it would be, I needed to be ready at a moment's notice.

"For now, keep your eyes open for trouble. That is both here and away from the embassy. See if Pandimala will spend some more time with you. Right now, she has access to more areas than most. Use that access if you can to look for anything unusual." Father commanded before he turned off the dark mode. "For now, you should take a break. Spend some time with that new friend of yours. Murav knows you don't make friends often."

He was making it seem like we went dark to talk about family things. My father was wise. Though, at times, he failed to show it. Like with his choice of topic. "I have friends, father."

A laugh came from him at that. "I can count on one hand how many you have…and I don't take up my four digits to do so either. That includes this new friend of yours. No, I won't let you lose this friendship easily. So, I am making it an order. Spend some time and relax. I know Pandimala has a meeting with Lord Oryax after her training. Send her a message and see if you can spend time with her later this evening." He then stood up and let out a sigh. "And while you are gone, I get to start the interviews for the positions on my war council.

Interviews. More like trials by combat. I swear he got a sense of joy by using that wording instead of just saying it straight out. Sometimes, I wondered how I was related to him. "Very well, father." I then smiled as a thought came to my mind. "Perhaps we could do some more training?" As I went to leave, I held back a laugh as father let out a frustrated yell at that.

Once the doors were closed behind me, though, I felt worried. Between Pandimala's new secret and this trouble with an attack coming, I doubted I would be relaxing much. I was going to have to be alert wherever I went. Just because they had attacked Pandimala's soliform didn't mean they wouldn't go after a higher-value target if this attacker saw the opportunity. And there weren't many positions higher than the daughter of the Emperor of Eternia.

Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

"So, how did this first solar of training go for her?" I asked Sandstorm as I sat down. While this meeting was regular, I wanted it to be as informal as possible.

"Surprising," Sandstorm admitted as he picked up an energon cube. "She doesn't move like most triple changers should."

"Is that a bad thing?" I wanted to know as soon as possible if we had done something to her during the incident that caused this strangeness.

Thankfully, the mech was already shaking his helm. "I thought that as well. However, Pandimala assured me she was trained this way before her first encounter with us. It wasn't something that we expected from her. Frag, it sure scared Leopel when they were sparring, and she started her fight quickly. He thought she would have the same opening attack that most larger bots, including himself, would have."

Leopel was a native of Ethos who was here for the training. With his alt modes being a large aerial hauler and a construction alt for his land-based mode, we thought he would give Pandimala a good working. So, I had requested this of Lord Oryax, and he had been more than willing. That was especially true since Leopel was almost finished with his training and could work with Pandimala should she have a snap.

Speaking of the snap. "Did you find out what might cause her snaps?"

"We have a theory," Sandstorm started. "The femme and I were talking when she first arrived, and she spoke about an incident which was a snap, though she hadn't realized it at the time. It is a pride-based snap, but it isn't a self-centered pride. And Leopel tried that angle a few times with her to get her to snap. However, her snaps seem more about her pride in something. If I am going off of the incident she spoke of, it is pride in her loyalty to the Decepticons. I'm not sure how far a bot will have to go to get her to snap. The incident she mentioned had a bot trying to persuade her to do something against what the Decepticons believed."

"Did you not test this?" It was strange. If Sandstorm knew something about the femme's snaps, why didn't he push that point to get to the answer immediately?

When the triple-changer shook his helm, I realized that the mech must have more information, which caused him to delay that part of her training. "It was what she told me about that incident that is causing me to take it slower with her. She said that when she snapped, she lost all awareness around her. Her only focus was taking out the threat in front of her. From what she said, she ground the mech's faceplate against a wall to some degree before the others around them pulled her off of him and sedated Pandimala. When she came to, she said she didn't know what happened and that the others had to inform her of what happened."

A dangerous snap. Thankfully, it didn't seem easy to trigger these snaps of hers. We just had to ensure we watched what was said to her. Losing consciousness and attacking purely on instinct was a dangerous way for her programming to react. She couldn't be held responsible for anything that happened during her snaps. "Then you should keep on her recovery training for now. Do you have a plan for her snaps, though?"

"Yes. I spoke to Lord Oryax after he met with Pandimala and asked if I could use Leopel during this training for her. We will work later in the evening and have at least two medics on servo to sedate her until she can get a servo on this. Leopel can take a hit and has agreed to do this. He says it will be a challenge to ensure he has his snaps to the point he wants them to. Given that the mech hasn't had a snap in three stellars, I'd say that's a good idea. We don't need another repeat of the last time we had Cybertronians in the program."

Yes. Those three. The incident between those three almost shut down the program. Though, to say that it was the fault of all three wouldn't be fair. Blitzwing had been placed in the same situation Leopel was volunteering to be in. He was almost done with his training and had been asked to work with his fellow Cybertronians. We had been hoping that a familiar faceplate would help them work together. And, when it was just Blitzwing and Astrotrain, it had been. Slowly, but the progress had been noticeable.

And then, we placed Octane in the mix. Astrotrain and Octane were at each other constantly, and it had taken a sharp optic to keep them from attacking each other. The one time we slipped on that watch, they hadn't wasted the opportunity. The violence that they showed that solar was immense. Energon could be found on every surface of that training room, and the two mechs mainly in the fight had been unconscious for fourteen solars before they came to. And while Blitzwing had suffered physically, the mental damage hit him the hardest. His personalities, which had been mild before that to the point where it was almost a choice which one he went to, to the point where he had battled for dominance with himself for stellars before we could work with all three personalities in a cooperative state. The mental damage all of his personalities went through caused him to be a semi-permanent resident for hundreds of stellars, right up before their war started before he was released.

As for the other two, that was an entirely different problem. We had gone into the investigation thinking they had both snapped, and we would have to work with them away from the rest of the trainees. However, our investigations made it clear that neither had snapped and had done that much damage out of want and not because of their programming. Both Astrotrain and Octane were sent back to Cybertron with a ban from entering Alliance space ever again.

Thinking about that situation, I worried about how this training with Pandimala would go. While she seemed like a level-helmed femme, she had also shown how powerful she could be. Iussa still refused to say what happened during their meeting. And all Grinchain would say was that he was never going to cross Pandimala if he could help it. When I tried to have Grinchain tell me more, he informed me that Iussa ordered him to give only that information should he be asked.

With the situation we were in now, I had to hope that Pandimala proved to be better than those two. "Perhaps we should have another assigned to her as well," I suggested with those previous thoughts in my helm. While I knew Leopel could care for himself, Pandimala seemed another type of bot entirely.

Sandstorm, thankfully, nodded. "I'll see if Perfican will join them. The Eskabaran should enjoy that. And if this all turns out well, it might show Hydrus IV that we can be trusted and are telling the truth about the Majipoor incident. Ethos wouldn't have attacked them, especially not their energon. While energon is easier to get these stellars, it still isn't easy yet."

And that yet was important. Rumors were coming that Pyrovar, the new Decepticon homeworld, was developing a growable energon source. Like organic beings could cultivate their substance, they hoped to do the same with their energon. If they succeeded, that would change everything. Outside of it being the right thing to do, we allowed Pandimala so much freedom during her stay here because of these rumors. She could be our way of smoothly creating an alliance with the Decepticons before the likes of New Quintessa got their tentacles into them.

I had to let go of those thoughts before they affected me further.

"Let's go to the Eskabar embassy and make the request. The sooner we have more guards on the femme while she is training, the better we will be for it."

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

Seven solars into these training sessions, I was starting to feel confident that I wouldn't be here long. That was mainly with the snap-specific training that I was having every evening. The first time it happened, well, it terrified me. The snap. Knowing what it was and still being unable to stop it made me feel helpless. I remembered them talking about finding a god who would come here to take me over, and then it went dark until I woke up in med bay. Thankfully, the mechs they had helping with the training could take a hit. Leopel, who was just shorter than me, was the most beat-up from that one. Nothing drastic, but a few gashes were on his chest plate and arms. Perfican had some dents on his backplates from where I threw him around, but the Eskabaran said it was fixed quickly enough.

On the third solar, I remembered more about the snap and had held back more. Now, I was conscious during each trial, and the others were coming out less and less damaged. Sandstorm said he had never seen a bot go through the training as quickly as I was. But I didn't have a choice. I needed to have these lessons finished to return to my Lord. So, I had to push myself more than anybot else to do that. And these lessons were vital. I needed to control myself at all times should my Lord need me.

"So, how was your solar off?" Perfican asked me as we stretched. While I wasn't allowed in the snap training with the other triple-changers, I was to come every other solar to work on basic training to help get back on my pedes fully. At this point, the pain was gone. The only thing I had left to do was work out the stiffness I still had from my recovery. Then, I would stay with the training to keep fit until I could make my way to Pyrovar.

I moved my arm to stretch it before I answered the mech. "It was nice. I met with Emperor Thav in the morning, followed by a meeting with your Lord Doclan. Why are all these planetary leaders here?" I asked more out of curiosity than hoping for an answer.

Perfican shrugged his shoulders before touching his pedes to stretch his backplates. "No clue. While a few usually stop by during the Fair, this is more than I've seen at one time. I think almost every minor embassy has its leaders present. A lot of deals are being made; that's for fragging sure. "

No kidding. I had noticed a lot of the bots on the streets had been huddled in groups. "Do you think Sandstorm will let us off early so we can avoid the crowds?" With the Fair starting next solar, I didn't want to deal with the masses out pre-scouting the stalls this solar. "Oh, and can you help me stretch this?" I asked as I moved my servo behind my backplates.

He nodded and started to help me stretch. "Keep dreaming. I'm sure he will walk in here any click, and we will be moving until we are done. Honestly, we'll probably run late. King Mithran of Pangar is one of those guests here, and he always gives Sandstorm a hard time about security." The majority race of Pangar were giant bipedal wolves who prided themselves on their security training. Some of the best in the universe if research was to be believed.

"So, we should be ready for a very long solar," I huffed.

"And I'm sure he will make tomorrow rougher after King Mithran talks to him. He always puts Sandstorm in a mood."

Joy.

But it would only help in the long run. So, as we switched spots and I helped him stretch, I smiled. "At least we are going to get more experience."

The seaplane and pontoon boat mech let out a vent. "I swear you must have some sort of fetish for training."

"Or she's just as energon-thirsty as the next lowlife Decepticon," A growl slipped from my vocals as Sharpstreak entered with his cronies. Late as usual. He was lucky Sandstorm wasn't here yet, or he would have been doing drills for that. "You can never take the pit out of the scum, no matter how much you buffer it, I always say," Sharpstreak continued with a sneer.

"So there's no hope for you at all. Good to know." I shot back with a shake of my helm. "I hate wasting time when I have better things I could be doing." I then purposefully turned to Perfican. "Did you see how tall the grass grew yesterday? It might have been a whole millimeter."

A hiss escaped the triple-changer prince at my blatant snubbing of him. "Think you're cute, don't you?"

"I think I'm slagging adorable," I shot back with a smile. "But it isn't hard to show you up." And it wasn't. I had been schooling the mech in most ways we fought during this training. For the future leader of a member planet, he needed to shape up.

Of course, learning that he was friends with Firebrand explained that mech's attitude even more. If his siblings thought his attitude was from Firebrand hanging out with this waste of space in front of me, they needed to work on getting between them. Just from the few times I interacted with Sharpstreak, I could tell that he was a toxic bot to be near.

"Right. Just like you do so well on your training?" He shot back. "I've heard from my sources. Your snaps make you into the creature you are. They say that snaps show us our true inner selves, and while that doesn't apply to most of us, it certainly describes monsters like you to perfection."

I felt anger pulse in my lines when he brought that up. Was I perfect with my snaps yet? No. Not even close. And I knew the damage I could cause. It was why I was getting this training. I never wanted to accidentally hurt somebot because I couldn't control myself. Not being in control scared me. It reminded me of everything I went through with Paul and how he tried to control me. I wasn't following his script, and he wanted to force me to change that.

He even blocked a portion of my memories. Thank the Allspark I had already shown Lord Megatron my past before that happened. And thankfully, Michael had put his block on Paul's block so I could access my current memories. The only ones I couldn't get to were the ones from my time in the Autobot base up to the party on the Nemesis. That betrayal from Paul still hurt when I thought about it. He forced his control on me, and, for now, I couldn't do anything about it.

"Pandimala has made more progress in her few solars of training than you have in your ninety solars being here, Sharpstreak," Perfican jumped in, glaring at the mech. "Her snaps are violent, so we have taken precautions until she can handle them. But, she is improving, and I'm honestly proud of her."

"Sure, but in the meantime, she could offline one of us at any click," Sharpstreak wasn't giving up this solar. Of course, Sandstorm was unusually late. If he wasn't here in a few clicks, I would private message him to see where he was. "Just look at the last time Decepticons were allowed in here. They almost offlined everybot they got near."

"First of all," I did a little research into the issue after I learned about it during my first solar of training, and the mech was leaving out some key points. "Only Astrotrain and Octane were the aggressors. Blitzwing was just as much a victim as everybot else. Even more so considering the circumstances. Secondly," I held up a second digit. "they weren't Decepticons at the time. That was before the war had broken out, so they were Cybertronians in general. And in that context, you can't blame the Decepticons for their behavior. Lastly, anybot with a processor should be able to see that no matter what is said, you don't judge a bot by what might happen. You would think the future leader of one of the member planets of the Galactic Alliance would know that?"

He was growing angrier with me by the nano. It was easy to read on his faceplate. He came over here to try and push my buttons, but I wasn't one to be played with. I wasn't sure what his endgame was, but he was trying to get me to react to something. What that might be, though, I wasn't sure.

"No, you judge scum by what they have done, and the Decepticons are the bottom of the storage barrel when it comes to that," A growl slipped my vocals when he shot that out. "Look how fake you are. You claim to be on a higher moral standing than every other Decepticon, and you have such a fanatical view of your leader, it's easy to see that it's fake,"

…What was that? "Enough, Sharpstreak," Perfican stepped in. I barely noticed the worried look on the mech's faceplate as I focused on Sharpstreak.

"You aren't the boss of me, Perfican," Sharpstreak shot back before he focused on me. "She has been bouncing around here like she owns this place, getting out of showing proper respect for her betters by claiming she only has loyalty to her 'Lord Megatron'. Right. I've seen her type before. Throw enough credits at them, and they will turn on everything they believe in." I felt my systems start to race as he took on a predatorial smirk. "I bet she would turn on her Lord for the standard hiring fee. Thirty credits femme. Now, kneel to me." The world seemed to slow down for me as, while he said that, he threw thirty credits at me. As the world seemed to close around me, the credits clanging against my armor, I could only stare at the credits.

Thirty credits.

The traitor's number.

Flashback

I smiled as daddy tucked me into bed. On the nights he was home, he always read me two stories. One was read from my favorite stories, and one from the bible. He always said that both taught really important lessons, and I didn't want to miss any of those. When daddy said something was important, then it usually was. Daddy didn't lie to me.

He had already read me a book about dragons, and now he was reading one of the stories from the bible. Since we usually didn't read large parts of the bible, he was almost done with this one. "Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?' So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on, Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over." Daddy then shut the bible.

"Why did he do that, daddy?" I asked him. Why would Jesus' friend be mean to him like that?

Daddy closed the bible and looked over at me. "Because he was scared of the high priests and wanted a way out of trouble. The easiest way to do that was to sell his best friend and teacher to him."

"I never want that much money, daddy. I won't hurt my friends like he did." I said as I felt sleepy. I would never ever hurt my friends like that.

Daddy let out a laugh before he kissed the top of my head. "Alright, sweetie. I'll make sure you never get thirty silver, okay?" I nodded before I let out a yawn. "And it looks like it is time for you to go to bed. Sweet dreams, little lizard,"

"Night night, daddy," I said as he turned off the light. Once he closed the door, I thought back to the story daddy had told. I would never hurt my friends like that. Never.

End of Flashback.

Sandstorm's 1st P.O.V.

"Slag it! Sandstorm, get in here now! She's snapping!"

My spark skipped a beat as I immediately ran toward the training room. Impal, one of Sharpstreak's friends, had stopped me to ask some basic questions about the training program, and I didn't see any harm in answering him. But, I noticed that he was asking more and more questions as I grew later to training. Something wasn't feeling right about how he acted, but I hadn't stopped him. With that frantic call from Perfican, I didn't waste a nano in running toward the training room.

Not again. I couldn't have this happen again. Why was she snapping now? She had been improving. We'd have to investigate this later. This didn't feel like a natural snap. From what we had seen of Pandimala's snaps, she didn't have them naturally. It took more than a turn of phrase to get her to lash out. We had tried. But, we had to build her up to that point by attacking different points of her loyalty to Megatron.

I burst through the doors, two medics behind me, and immediately took in the situation. Perfican was leaning against a wall, obviously damaged. On the opposite wall, Valar and Lopel, who were friends of Sharpstreak, were damaged on the other. At the far wall, a damaged Sharpstreak was backing away from Pandimala, who was obviously in a snap. When she reached down and grabbed the mech by his neck, I started to move forward.

"You try that again, and I will do much worse."

Those words coming from Pandimala caused me to stop. She was in her snap. That much was obvious. However, she was speaking. Being able to talk during a snap was rare, and even the few times we recorded such an act, they were usually one or two words barely forced out. This was different. The voice coming from Pandimala was cold, detached, and determined. We all stayed still for a moment before Pandimala tossed the prince against the wall and took steps away from him.

"Pandimala," I spoke softly as I slowly moved toward her.

She turned to me, and I noticed that her optics were dim. Most definitely in a snap. "Go ahead. I won't fight," Pandimala said in that same voice as she moved to sit on the ground. Once her servos were latched above her helm, I motioned the medics forward.

Thankfully, they understood the seriousness of what was happening and moved slowly toward her. Once they placed the sedative in her lines, it took another two clicks for the femme to slump to the side into stasis lock. As more medics arrived, I turned to the remaining bots, all who were conscious. "What happened?" I demanded as the first medics moved Pandimala out of the room.

"That monster attacked me," Sharpstreak coughed out. It sounded like the femme had damaged his intakes. "Scum like that shouldn't be allowed near regular bots like us."

"That's bull slag," Perfican groaned as he moved to sit up straighter for the medic who had come up to him. "Pandimala and I were doing our stretches when those three came in late. Sharpstreak was taunting Pandimala and trying to insult her. He said he knew about how bad her snap training was going. Then, he said that her loyalty to Lord Megatron was fake,"

"You're stretching things out of proportion," Sharpstreak tried to interrupt as a medic started to work on him.

To my surprise, however, Valar snapped at the mech. "No, he isn't. You said all of that and more."

Sharpstreak hissed at the mech. "Keep your vocals shut,"

"Not after that," Lopel looked shaken as he spoke. "You said we were going to tease the femme a little. You said there was no harm in it, and any Decepticon would see that. That wasn't just a little teasing. You were attacking her verbally." He then had a look of realization come to his optics. "You slagger, you wanted her to snap,"

"No, I didn't, and you can't prove that," Sharpstreak growled as the medic in front of him continued to work on him.

I shook my helm. We would get back to that during the full investigation. For now, I needed more of the story from Perfican. "Go on, Perfican."

The mech nodded. "I tried to get Sharpstreak to stop, but he brushed me off and continued. He said she was just using her 'loyalty' to get what she wanted out of everybot. He then threw thirty credits at the femme, saying that would be enough to buy her off. What it did was set her off. I'm not sure why, but the credits were the tipping point she needed to snap. I tried to get between them, but you see where that got me," He then motioned to the damage he took. "In between strikes against Sharpstreak, Lopel and Valar tried to get her off him. But they ended up over there for their trouble. You came in for the end of it." He then shook his helm. "I've never heard a bot talk during a snap."

"That's because she is faking it," Sharpstreak growled. "And I want that monster removed from here, or my sire will hear about this,"

A growl slipped from my vocals at the audacity of the mech. Multiple witnesses said he provoked Pandimala into a snap, and he was trying to make demands? Not on my watch. "You will have no say in this. Just from what I learned this solar, you will be lucky if you are allowed to stay in the program," His faceplate looked shocked at my retort. "The guards are already on their way to our location and to the med room the medics took Pandimala to. Memories will be taken from the incident. Once those are done, you are all on limited restrictions—no transforming into alt mode and not training. I will send messages to your planetary leaders explaining the situation and official reports once they come through. Be prepared to be called for more questions should we have any."

"Oh, I'll make sure I tell my sire all about this slag going on here," Sharpstreak growled.

I was not taking that sort of talk from the young mech. "Then I will be extra sure to show Lord Dometti my memories of this conversation. I know your sire well, and he does not take foolishness as you showed this solar lightly." And he didn't. Lord Dometti was a strong leader in the Alliance with a no-nonsense approach to situations. Once he heard what his creation caused, he would not be happy. He may even threaten to make Sharpstreak's sister Goldleaf, his only sibling, heir instead of Sharpstreak. The fact that the mech in front of me thought he could try and use his sire's designation during this to get his way was amusing. Barely.

Sharpstreak glared at me when I said that but didn't say another word. Good. That would probably help him in the inquiry to come.

Until then, though, I had to report this to Lord Dawnbreaker. He would not be happy that the femme was attacked…again.

Seabreeze's 1st P.O.V.

"I'm not going to live through the solar," My panicking bondmate said for the hundredth time as he paced around his throne. It had been a solar since the training incident between Pandimala and Prince Sharpstreak of Pova, and the femme was coming to talk about it with my bondmate.

"We could not have prevented this, and I'm sure Pandimala will realize that. She has proven herself quite wise in recent solars. That is especially given everything that has been thrown at her." Between the summons from Iussa, dealing with my errant creations, and the attack against her soliform at the Eternia Embassy, the femme had shown more character and thoughtfulness than most beings in the universe.

Were we hoping to use her as an in with the Decepticons? Yes. However, it was evident that she was also hoping for something out of us. I could see it in how she studied different issues as they came up to her. But, there was no hostility in those plans, just like I'm sure she saw that there was none in ours.

My bondmate let out a vent. "You're right. I just need to relax. Thank Iussa that the femme hasn't become enraged from all that has happened." Thankfully, he sat on his throne before he looked at me. "And she has done so much for us as it is. I've noticed how open Lightbeam is with us now and how sociable both Seabreaker and Grinchain have become. She's unintentionally fixing our family for us."

Or intentionally. I didn't want to say it to my bondmate right now, but this felt planned. The friendships she was forming with my creations were real, but given how she had demanded the guide program for one of her reparations, I could see she was trying to work with my creations. I would admit that, at first, I thought she would use that time to turn them against us. But, the positivity from that first solar she spent with Grinchain told me that her plans would only better our futures. Would she demand something from this incident? Probably. She was being forced to take it for her recovery and thus was forced into that situation.

For now, though, I would keep that to myself. It would probably stress my bondmate's spark even more than it already was.

The doors opening caused us to focus in that direction as Pandimala walked inside. Compared to the first time she graced this room with her presence, her stride was improved by light years. The training she was going through was helping her to that end. That was a small thing to be grateful for.

"Lord Dawnbreaker, Seabreeze, you wished to speak with me?" Pandimala asked with the nod of her helm, which was customary for her to give in greeting.

"Yes," My bondmate started. "We wished to speak with you about the incident with your snap the other solar."

The femme flinched at that. "I apologize for losing control during that, though I do not regret what I did to the mech. While I had no control of my chassis then, I remember what I did."

Straight and to the point. Another quirk I noticed the femme possesses. She didn't try to dance around an issue. Did she give all the information she could? No. But she would answer directly without any hesitation.

"And we do not expect you to apologize. We have read the reports from the memory viewing, and you held back more than one would expect for how he treated you. I thank you for that restraint," Dawnbreaker stated. "However, we have noticed you have been the target of attacks and wished to make it up to you the best we could. Is there anything that you wish? If it is within my power, I will grant it."

It was a gamble to offer such an open-ended gift to the femme. However, given everything that happened to her during her stay, this would be a small price to pay.

"I spoke with Lightbeam when she visited me a few cycles ago," Pandimala started. "She mentioned that representatives from Wern will have a limited viewing presentation of some research they have been doing for flyers. If it is possible, I would like to witness that presentation."

That was it?

And what was even stranger was that she wasn't demanding inclusion. Instead, she was asking for it. "Is that all you wish for?" I asked the femme. She had room to ask for more if she wanted. There had to be something more at play for her only to ask for this.

She smiled. "That is all. I would be interested to see what this existence-changing invention they have claimed to have created. My Lord may be interested in it, and I doubt I could gain entrance without your invitation. So, that would be enough, I think."

Ah, I saw her play now. She wanted to keep her options open should her plans with us fail. Smart femme. Again, while I sensed no malice coming from her, she certainly was a clever sort. If she were not already pledged to the Decepticons, I would offer her a sport among our army once she might be vetted. Her processor was sharp, and it didn't fail me to see how she gathered information during her trips with Grinchain to Teklan Hall. Pandimala was gathering information about the Galactic Alliance. And I didn't doubt she had gathered the information about our trouble from one of my creations she was friendly with.

And, given her situation, I respected that. A glance at my bondmate reminded me to keep this theory quiet for now. I wasn't sure his spark could take it. I'd have to break this down to him in private later this evening.

"As long as you're sure," Dawnbreaker hesitantly agreed before he seemed to pull himself together. "Then I, Lord Dawnbreaker of Vestium Major, implore Pandimala to join me as my guest for The Society of Innovative Discovery of Wern's invention display."

Seeing the confused look on Pandimala's faceplate at the formal invitation was amusing. As well as she held herself up in political circles these solars, it was easy to spot her inexperience in simple moments such as this. "I humbly accept the invitation, Lord Dawnbreaker. I await a message on what time would be appropriate for me to arrive." And yet, with that inexperience, she seemed ready to respond in such a way I would expect an old family noble to respond. There was something that didn't make sense about the femme. If she knew how to respond, why did she get taken by surprise when she needed to react with such?

"Is there anything else you wish to speak on, Pandimala?" I asked the femme. Once the femme was gone, I would speak with Dawnbreaker about my revelations. Slowly, of course. I didn't need the poor mech to have spark failure.

The femme in question shook her helm. "No, I need to visit Physis for another of his physicals. After the incident, he insisted on further exams. Hopefully, this will be the last one before he clears me to start my training again. Despite what happened, I think I made a real breakthrough during that snap." She then bowed her helm toward Dawnbreaker. "If that is all you need of me, I wish you a good recharge."

"Good recharge, Pandimala," We both wished the femme.

Once the femme departed, my bondmate sank into his seat. "I know that Decepticons come in all varieties, but I never expected to meet one like her."

Glancing after the femme, I shook my helm. "Neither did I, though I do not see our meeting as bad despite how it originated." However, I allowed my earlier thoughts to circulate in my helm. There was information that she was keeping back, and I had a feeling that we would find out the langer she was here.

Unknown 1st P.O.V.

I contemplated the reports in front of me. Given the chaotic events of the past twenty solars, I only now found myself able to go over these. Of course, it wasn't every solar one deposed their sire from his throne. However, it had to be done. The route he was leading us was one that none would stand for. To become subservient to those squids…never. Once I learned of his plan, I did not waste time assembling my allies before raising the masses against him. It had taken us ten solars to break through the barricade he had made and another four to make the mech surrender to me. I knew the danger he could be if I exiled him, so I had him executed for treason against his people. I had been reviewing his files and reports for the past six solars to see where we stood.

One glaring note that needed to be rectified would cause me to travel away from home. I would keep the mistakes of my sire from carrying over with me during my reign. Funnily enough, I doubted that the other member planets of the Alliance realized what I had done. From this situation alone, they would all be watching their borders and not paying much attention to what was happening here. Also, I noticed that most embassies here had been closed while my father ruled. I would have to rectify that.

As for announcing my new status, one way for them to know was to make myself known to them as I went to expose my sire's plans.

My optics moved from that note to one of the newer reports. Father must have received it the solar our siege started; otherwise, he would have planted some of his operatives with our representatives for Vestium Major's Advancement Fair. Thankfully, I knew each bot who went, and they would represent us well. This report, however, made my trip to the planet even more demanding. According to our Embassy there, the royal family of Vestium Major was in a spot of political trouble due to some accident involving a Decepticon. Interesting. The Alliance stayed out of Cybertron's affairs for the most part, and this seemed highly irregular for them.

Even more strange was that Vestium Major was doing a better job keeping this information internal than I thought they could. I knew the family well. Before current issues caused us to lose contact, my family knew theirs well enough. They are not quite allies but not enemies either. Enough where I knew the trouble Firebrand was heading toward. While we were the same age, I would gladly tell him to his faceplate that he seemed to be functioning with half a processor. When I arrived on Vestium Major, I would call a meeting with Lord Dawnbreaker to discuss this problem.

"You are leaving," Electel, the chaos-centric goddess of my planet, spoke as she stepped forward. It was mostly with her blessing that the uprising I started against my sire went so well and quickly.

Also, while she did not ask that, I decided to answer her anyway. "Yes, as soon as I can. I only regret not knowing I would need to depart sooner so I could have left with the representatives and saved energon."

"Fate is a fickle creature," Electel responded to that. "I believe it has given you the best chance to succeed in your plans. If you had gone with the representatives, only trouble would have risen," She then smiled. "The future is on a bright path. Chaos is being reborn and bringing back balance to the universe. The creators would be pleased." Unicron and Primus. Electel was an older goddess. One of the first ones was created from Primus' and Unicron's energies and was thus closer to their power level.

Also, it was said that when she was created, Unicron's defeated chassis was moving through our system and stayed in this spot for a time. While the gathering debris that would make up our planet did not attach to the pinnacle god, it did gather much of his chaotic energies. That spike in energies made Electel extra-sensitive to the future. Not seeing it or knowing it, but having instincts about it. I trusted her word as she trusted us to live each solar as if it were our last.

"And where does it start?" I asked her as I moved to put the files away.

What I was not ready for was for her to let out a laugh. "Make no mistake, my young Lord, it has already started. It started on the chassis of the great god of Chaos, and its influence spreads. And it is a spread that should be encouraged and assisted. Assist the change, and you will find your reign long and prosperous." Her sharp digits tapped against the counter thoughtfully. "I wish to accompany you."

While I knew better than to question a goddess, I still had reservations. "Is that safe, given everything that has gone on?"

Electel nodded. "Fear not. Our planet will stay strong in our absence, and I feel drawn to Vestium Major. I sense one who I must speak with there. Plus, it would be nice to see Iussa after so long. We haven't seen each other since the last in-presence Alliance meeting thirty stellars ago."

"Didn't you try and place advertisement stickers on the back of her helm?" Iussa, I doubted, would be pleased for the goddess to visit her.

"Details," Electel laughed. "Now, I must pack. I should only need Nartea to accompany me as a guard. Iussa will be more than willing to spare a couple of hers to assist us."

Despite what she said, this trip would be the offlining of me. "Very well, but we must move quickly. I want to be on Vestium Major as soon as possible, and it is a long trip there."

Chapter Text

Emperor Thav's 1st P.O.V.

"You wished to see me?" I glanced up to see Garl. As one of the newer members of my War Council, it was understandable that he was still nervous around me. Hopefully, time will change that. Until then, I would be patient with the blacksmith who had earned his way onto my Council.

However, that wasn't the reason I called him here. "Yes, please have a seat." He sat down and focused on me before I spoke. "I heard you got a special order from Pandimala."

Garl nodded. "Pandimala came in soliform and mentioned how, after visiting my shop, she realized she had very few weapons. While she simply gave me a list of her melee equipment, I honestly agreed with her. So, she asked what I would recommend outside of replacements for her broadswords. I mentioned that having a dagger on servo never hurt in case of close-quarters attacks, and she agreed with me. So, we worked out the designs, and I have her order already in the works." He then gave me a studying look. "But why do you want to know what she was ordering?"

I wanted my new war council to be open with each other, and the questions we had been having about Pandimala should be brought up with the only other member outside of my daughter.

"There are parts of Pandimala's history, as she has told us, that do not make any sense when we look at her actions during her time on this planet and, more importantly, here at the embassy. Caigal mentioned during her days with the femme's soliform, she exhibited instincts that mechano beings do not instinctually exhibit as Pandimala did," I explained to Garl.

He, in turn, nodded. "I noticed some strange behavior from her as well. She seemed to have a habit of chewing on her hair. I know of some organic species that habitually do this when nervous or in a similar state of mind. Not only that, but she followed along with my smithing processes despite the organic-based processes that I use. She didn't have any questions about them, and she didn't seem to be faking knowledge of it either. She truly understood what I was doing. And I'm not sure if you heard," I paid extra attention as he seemed to be going off on a tangent. "But her fights for her training have all the bots confused up there. Even sent Sandstorm to the medical wing a few times."

This wasn't news to me. "I've heard that her snaps are incredibly violent. But that wouldn't be a hallmark of anything strange going on. Plus, in the solars since the incident between her and Prince Sharpstreak, the femme has gotten almost complete control of her snaps."

To my surprise, the labac shook his head. "Except I'm not talking about her snaps. I'm talking about her regular fighting." He then motioned to his wrist before he continued. "From what I've heard, she seems able to attack joints and other sensitive targets on the chassis with an accuracy we don't usually see in mechano beings. Even their martial arts don't go into that sort of training. From my weapon crafting and making weapons with weaknesses in mind, I've only seen that in organic species."

"So, we can assume the femme spent time on an organic world for an extended period," I gathered from what he said. That would be useful to know. And it also explained how the femme could blend in as well as she did. Well, somewhat, at least.

I felt frustrated when Garl shook his head. "That's not all. The femme had to be with those organics and interact with them long enough for her to pick up on their instincts. That doesn't happen in a few stellars. That takes time."

A long-term deployment on an organic world. That narrowed down the list of places Pandimala could have been coming from when she was shot down here. I'd have intelligence start looking into that. "While I do wonder about the femme," I began as a reminder. "I also consider her a friend. I don't wish to upset her should we dig too far into something she may not be happy with us digging into."

Garl held up his hands at that. "I understand. I also count Pandimala as a friend and would rather avoid upsetting her if I can. Despite all that we don't know about her, she has been fairly open with us, the situation as it is."

Yes, the fact that the femme was forced to stay here for recovery from an incident in which she did everything right. And after all of that, she was taking everything in stride. If it were my ship that had been shot down over neutral territory, since that was what Vestium Major would be considered for her, I would have made sure they regretted coming into existence. Outside of some harsh words, though reasonable, the femme was very understanding with Lord Dawnbreaker and his family.

Speaking of, I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that Caigal and Pandimala should be getting to their workout with Leopel and Perfican. Perhaps we would go and watch for a little. Get a first-hand view of what was going on. "If you have time, Garl, we should visit the training center and see these anomalies first hand. Caigal is there with Pandimala right now, so we even have a reason to go and watch."

The labac looked like he was debating my request until he nodded. "I could spare a few cycles to watch them. I haven't seen any interesting fights in some time, and this will probably be very entertaining." Like any respectable labac, Garl appreciated a good fight. And from the reports I read, Pandimala showed she could fight well. I'd have to have her use her soliform and take part in a mock fight against one of my soldiers. The experience Pandimala would have as a Decepticon placed into that form would be an exciting battle.

However, that would have to wait. As I had thought earlier, few organic worlds had a long-term Decepticon presence. And a few of those could be eliminated simply due to the path she would have had to take to get here. A few of those planets didn't have a feasible route from them to Vestium Major space. Yes, I would be looking into this thoroughly. While I trusted Pandimala, given everything she had done for me, I wanted to know more. She was holding back something, and I wanted to know what that was.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"You know, I think you are enjoying this a little too much," Perfican huffed as he sat, waiting for the medics to look at his wrist.

With my current recovery, I was falling back into the fighting styles that I had. And one of my instincts was the impulse to go after weak points when I could. Lord Megatron appreciated the strange aspect I brought into training and had me training with the bots on the Nemesis before the situation with the peace talks. Knockout, Hook, Joe, and the other medics had their servos full with injuries when I would use those moves in practice. Of course, I had to be judicious with how often I did those attacks. While Lord Megatron encouraged me to use those attacks, he did understand that it was not wise to anger medics when I didn't need to. At least they would be proud of how I was recovering here. With my current recovery here, I felt I would be back to full health in no time.

As I sat with the others waiting, I had to hold back a flinch as I felt phantom pains on my back. Where my wings should be. Even though it had been several solars since I was shot down, I still felt like I was just waking up with that same pain repeatedly. I forgave Seabreaker and most of his family for the attack, though Firebrand was still in my crosshairs. However, despite that forgiveness, I couldn't ignore the empty feeling my wings sent me. Well, what they should have been sending me. Instead, they were on lockdown, just as my t-cog was. It was like an itch that would pop up every so often that I couldn't itch no matter what.

Back to Perfican, though. "Possibly. But that's only because that means I'm recovering faster," I laughed as the medic walked over and started to work on the mech. "Though I have to ask, Caigal," The labac turned to me as I addressed her. "Is there any special reason your father and Garl have been watching us for the past cycle?"

She glanced up to where the two were sitting before she shook her head. "Probably boredom. Father has a strange habit of wandering where the entertainment is…or where I am." She then glanced at me. "And I've noticed that when I'm with you, Pandimala, both incidents seem to cross."

"Me? Cause trouble?" I asked with heavy irony in my vocals.

Even though I was using irony, all three of them, and the medic, glanced back at me. "If you weren't being ironic, I would helm slap you to the Pit and back." Leopel laughed.

"Oof, right in the spark," I proclaimed, exaggeratingly while covering my chest plate with my servo. "But, I get what you mean, though. I do tend to attract trouble. I'm mature enough to admit that." However, that got me thinking about some of the trouble I have been seeing. "Speaking about maturity, though, I have to ask. What is the deal with Sharpstreak and Firebrand? I've heard they're close, and the attitudes I've been getting from each of them solidifies that fact."

The three of them glanced at me but stayed quiet until the medic working on Perfican left before Caigal shook her head. "Yeah, they're close. They've known each other for as long as I have been alive."

"Even longer," Leopel joined in. "We all used to hang out. Since my carrier is an advisor to Lord Oryax, I've been coming to Vestium Major for a good part of my existence. And since Lord Oryax doesn't have any creations, he encouraged the families of his advisors to interact with the other creations of higher-ups. We all practically watched her grow up." I laughed as that got Caigal to blush and turn away slightly. "But Sharpstreak and Firebrand were super close. I used to hang out with them when we were younger, and everything was fine when we started our youngling stellars. But, as we got older, Sharpstreak started to change. He got more aggressive, and he started to become a bully. He made fun of the others because they were smaller than he was. And Firebrand looked up to Sharpstreak, so he followed right behind him. At first, I tried to stop him. Get Firebrand to see what Sharpstreak was up to. But it never worked. Since I didn't see Firebrand as often as he did Sharpstreak, I wasn't around enough to change anything. Now, Firebrand is insufferable."

That made sense. If Firebrand had such an attachment to the mech, it would be harder for me to break through to him as I wanted. But I had to try, at least. And the best way to do that was to get him to see how much his actions hurt his family. I'd have to make a plan around that. For now, though, I had to try to keep our interactions to a minimum.

"I know that look, Pandimala," I glanced at Caigal as she gave me a studying glance. "You're planning something."

Well, she was partly right. "I'm planning on planning something more like it." I corrected her. "But, I'll fill you in on that later. For now, though, let's head to the Fair. There are some exhibits that I want to look at before the exhibition next solar." I would tell these three about what I was planning once I had a plan in place. It wouldn't be easy to break Sharpstreak's hold on Firebrand. I'd have to tread cautiously to make sure I didn't cross any lines.

For now, I needed to focus on finishing my recovery and my triple-changer training. Ever since the incident, I have been able to control my snaps even better. I was to the point where, when I snapped, I would only be violent for the first few clicks. Sandstorm and the instructors were amazed at my progress and told me so regularly. At the rate I was going, I would be graduating at the same time that Perfican and Leopel were going to be. It was one more step toward my return home. After that, I needed to heal enough for Physis to release my medical lockdowns. I was one step closer.

"Sure. I wanted to check out the Hissan scale armor," Caigal spoke up as the four of us exited the training area.

I felt a shiver travel up my back at her suggestion. While the Hissans were nice, I had to approach them carefully. They were a species with four arms, and in place of legs, they had snake-esque tails. When I first met the species, I almost panicked. Caigal thought I was snapping when we ran into the one the other solar. Before she got a guard to call Sandstorm, though, I was able to separate them in my processor from snakes, and I was calm around them for the rest of that meeting. I was worried that if I were surprised by them, I would panic like I did with snakes.

"Sure," Perfican agreed as we made it outside. "After we look there, I want to run over to Thundera's exhibit. They supposedly have created a new armor coating to help reduce feedback from electric-based weapons."

Really? Given my order to Garl, the other solar, I also needed to look into that. While my normal broadswords were plain in their concept, the ones I was having Garl craft would have an electrical current going through them. Maybe I could coat the hilts of the blades in this coating? I'd look into it. "That sounds great." I agreed out loud. "Seabreaker should be waiting outside for me. Once we tell him the plan, we can start with the Hissan exhibit. After that, we can see where else looks interesting."

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

"Alright, that's enough!"

Vents cycling, I backed away from the practice hologram I had been working on. I was moving quickly through the different remedial lessons that Skylark was putting me through. Since I was never a fan of training because it usually involved rigorous and demanding focus that I couldn't and didn't want to give, I had some basic lessons to go through. And Skylark had been patient with me for the solars I had been attending. That was especially true since I was a last-click student. Most of the trainers here on Vestium Major were booked out for dozens of solars, if not stellars, to get in.

But she could take me as soon as I had called. Now that I thought about it, why had she been able to take me? "Thanks for the lesson this solar," I thanked the femme as she walked over.

The light blue jet femme with white markings had a frame type that, while not beast in nature, took on a bestial appearance. Hers was of an avian, and that was most notably seen in her wings, which took on ridges like feathers on wings, and the crest that was on her helm, which had the light blue of her frame, the white that touched her other feathers, and a dark blue that rounded it out. Her optics were strange, though. While her right optic was a rich red, the left was golden. "It's always a pleasure to work with you, Grinchain," The femme spoke as she stopped before me. "You push yourself when many others I've worked with don't bother. While many bots on this planet like training, they don't like putting actual effort into training. You do, though. It makes me glad that you called me."

"Speaking on that," This seemed like the best opening to get my answers. "How were you able to fit me in? Most trainers I've heard about have waiting lists that last for solars, at the least. Some are stellars out in reservations."

A short vent left the femme before she motioned me to sit. Since I wasn't in a hurry, since this was Seabreaker's solar with Pandimala anyway, and they were hanging out with some others, I took a seat. "As I just said, you push yourself in your training, despite the few solars you see me, unlike many others that have come through these doors. Outside of you, Grinchain, I see three other bots, and they don't usually come to me until later in the evenings. You are the only one I see in the early portion of the solar. And out of the four of you, Grinchain, you are the most dedicated to this training."

I was the most dedicated? I saw Skylark every other solar, which was shorter than most bots' training sessions. "That can't be. I'm only here part-time, and even then, I don't train the entire time slot that most bots do."

"I appreciate the thought behind that," Skylark laughed, "But it's true. And, if you think hard enough, you can probably guess why they don't respect me enough to train as diligently as you do."

It didn't take me long to think of one thing that could be holding bots back. Both from what she said and even from joining her training center in the first place. But it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to judge bots on things they couldn't control. "Just because you're a femme?" I put it out there to make sure it was said.

She nodded. "Yes. Despite the advances we have made in showing the equality between femmes and mechs, there are still old prejudices engrained in some bots' programming. And those prejudices say that femmes are worth less on the battlefield than in other, more domicile roles."

"But that's scrap." I hissed. "There are so many examples of strong femmes who have risen to the tops of their militaries that could shut down all of their arguments. Strika is among the greatest strategists and warriors the Decepticons have ever had. From the reports I read, Lensflare is a strong and relentless Decepticon on the battlefield, as is Astraea. Frag, Astraea once went pede to pede with three Wreckers to ensure her platoon escaped. That's not even bringing up Pandimala, who we all know is powerful. Slag, she took a hit from the defense system and is already back to training. Of course, then there is Waldrel, military leader of Airlandia, who has very few defeats in her millions of stellars leading their forces."

"I get your point, Grinchain," Skylark laughed as she motioned me to stop with her servos. "And I appreciate all of your examples. But you just prove my point. You understand that strength isn't determined by frame type. Many bots, both mechs and femmes, don't understand that concept. But that is alright. I'd rather not waste my time with such short-processor bots."

While I saw what she was saying, it still felt wrong. But, this was her fight. And if there was one thing I had picked up from all of the femmes I had studied and knew, femmes could handle their fights. So, I raised my servos. "Fair enough."

"I did have a question for you, Grinchain, if you are allowed to answer it," Skylark suddenly said.

I tilted my helm slightly in confusion at what sounded like a complete change of pace. "What is it, Skylark?"

"It's about Pandimala. Has she told you how she survived the hit from the defense system?" Skylark started. "I've thought about it, and her armor has to be made with extremely study material to not disintegrate from those blasts."

I hadn't thought about it before, but now that Skylark mentioned it, that was strange. "It hasn't come up," I answered her, though my thoughts were moving away from my surroundings fast as I thought about her question. The defense system was built to repel large-scale battleships that might attack us one solar. Pandimala's alt mode was minuscule in comparison to those. All of the tests my sire did on those systems showed that they had the power to accomplish their task efficiently. And that meant that Pandimala should have been decimated by the glancing shots she took from it. But she wasn't. Moreover, she was conscious when the investigative team went to look for evidence of the pilots of the 'ship'.

Maybe I would ask Pandimala after Wern's presentation next solar? I was pretty sure it wouldn't make the femme angry. I mean, it wasn't like she wasn't used to it. Having a frame that sturdy, she had to have her fellow Decepticons asking about it before.

"Vestium Major to Grinchain!" I jolted back to focus when I heard Skylark say that. As I focused on her, she laughed. "I didn't mean to get you in your thoughts with that. I was honestly just curious. As you said, she is a pretty close example of a strong femme, so I was curious." She then motioned to me. "Rest up a bit this solar and next. I want us to work on your flight capabilities during the next solar we meet. That will be fairly taxing on your frame."

"I'll make sure I rest as well as I can," I agreed before we stood up. Reaching out my servo, I shook her offered servo. "Thanks again for teaching me, Skylark. I'm glad I was able to get in with you."

"You don't have to sound like we aren't going to see each other again. However, it has been an honor teaching you. But we are far from done with your training. Now go and get some rest."

Nodding, I waved goodbye to her before I left the training center. Once the warm sun hit my chassis, I slowed down and walked down the streets toward Teklan Hall. But, as I did, I let my thoughts go back to what Skylark and I discussed. Well, what we were talking about in regards to Pandimala. While I counted the Decepticon as my friend, there were so many mysteries surrounding her that I felt conflicted. Since she was my friend, I didn't want to doubt her just because I didn't know something about her. However, she would be the first to tell me I should look for answers to whatever I had questions about.

Of course, looking for answers and asking her about them directly were two different things. Maybe I would wait until my next solar with her? We were going to be busy with the exhibition next solar, so I probably wanted to save my questions for another solar. Plus, that would give me time to figure out how to ask her all this.

And, deep down, I was worried about losing her as my friend. While she did want me to ask questions, there had to be a limit, and I didn't want to cross it. I didn't have many friends, and having her as my friend was a gift from Iussa that I never wanted to lose. Even my twin didn't understand me as well as Pandimala did. As I glanced up at Teklan Hall, I remembered my first tour solar with her. Coming here showed me that a bot could love to study as I did and still find time to train. Pandimala was not only my friend, but she was my idol. She was the kind of bot I wanted to be one solar.

So no. I would wait until after the exhibition to ask her anything. And even then, I would ask her questions slowly, so I didn't go past that line. Every bot had their limits. I had seen one of Pandimala's limits when we met with Iussa, and I never wanted her to be that disappointed and angry with me.

Chapter Text

Lord Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

It was a relief. The Fair had so far gone on without any problems. Usually, I wouldn't be worried about that sort of issue. Our Fair had always been a drawing event for the Alliance, and we had very few problems come from past ones. And those problems usually came from bots who were a little too rowdy after their high grade.

But I had more on the line this stellar, so I was even more worried.

The situation with Pandimala was weighing on my processor. And it was evident that the femme seemed to attract trouble to her. Not only did we have her shot down due to an error, but she also had to deal with an attempted attack on my youngest son and daughter, being in the middle of a coup with the labac, had some altercation with Iussa that nobot would talk about, and had been forced into a snap by a prince from a different planet that we were allied with.

And for the latest transgression against her, all she asked was to sit in on the exhibition by Wern. For being a Decepticon, her goals weren't as apparent as most Decepticon goals were. Other times, it was clear what they would want. And what she should have wanted was retribution…even if I wouldn't have been able to give it. While I felt I had a good relationship with Lord Dometti, I could see the problem our two planets would face when our heirs took their lordships. I was trying to break through to Firebrand about how he was acting, but so far, any effort I made was useless.

This situation with Pandimala was only serving to drive us further apart. I heard what he was saying, despite anything he might think. He felt like I was going over him to appease Pandimala. And, from his view, I could see how he might feel that. But that wasn't the case. The political standing of the galaxies was on a tight edge right now, and one wrong move could set it off.

Honestly, I had a feeling that was partly why the femme was keeping her demands low. At this point, I was sure that the research she was doing that we had a record of told her just how dangerous the political field was at the click. Any one of the incidents that she was involved in could be grounds to cry injustice and bring the galaxies apart. In her way, Pandimala seemed to be trying to minimize damage without losing face.

Pausing to look at a display from one of our citizens, I thought about that. While Pandimala knew about the political turmoil we were facing now that she did research, she couldn't have known much when we first shot her down. The Decepticons didn't have any activity on Galactic Alliance worlds, well, any significant activity, and I had requested a list of all Decepticon and Autobot outposts that did exist on those planets. When the rosters came in, there was no sign of the femme's designation. Plus, her research after the fact told us that she had little experience, if any, with the Galactic Alliance.

When I met with my subsidiary planet leaders, Lord Oryax thought that perhaps the femme had come from one of the further outposts and just miscalculated her trajectory to Pyrovar. While that made sense, other ways she acted took away from that. Most importantly, it was her soliform and how she acted with it. Emperor Thav was adamant that the femme took to her soliform as if it were a second protoform. She knew how to act with it in even the most alert situations. To have that familiarity with an organic species, our kind had to be among them for quite some time. Even with how long I had been in contact with the labac, I couldn't pass off as one of them as well as Pandimala did with her human soliform.

And that was another point. Humanity was a species that existed on very few planets that hosted interstellar travel or even hosted other species knowingly. And of those planets, none had Decepticons or Autobots on them for the length of time it would have taken for the femme to adapt to their nature as well as she had. So, she had to have come from a planet that hosted humans as its primary species. As far as interstellar records showed, that left few planets. And even with the one world that held humans as the majority species, Earth, there was no way the femme could have been stationed there. Not only did every Decepticon from that deployment arrive at Pyrovar first, but they were not on the planet long enough for the femme to have such a familiarity with the species.

And, if Grinchain was to be believed, the conflict on the faraway organic planet did not leave time for interaction with the locals. So, Pandimala had to have been stationed elsewhere.

"You look grim, my friend," I glanced to my right to see Lord Oryax standing there, a rust stick held out to me as he kept one for himself. I started to nibble on the offered treat as he continued. "This is the Advancement Fair! We are supposed to be able to relax." He then studied me some more before I heard him release a vent. "But you're worried about the situation with Pandimala, aren't you?"

"Am I that easy to read?" It wasn't like I was hiding it, but for him to realize what I was upset about so quickly meant that others around me might have similar sight, and I was not surrounded by allies.

Thankfully, the mech shook his helm. "No, but I have known you long enough, my friend, to realize what might bother you. And trust me, I understand where you may be coming from. While my meeting with the femme turned out much better than I thought it would have, there were many questions that it left me with. And the way she acts is not how Decepticons are known to act. She is logical, and while her loyalty to the Decepticons is extreme, as shown by her snap training, she understands how others may feel. The empathy she shows is staggering for a mechano-based species in general. We are not always so attuned to our surroundings."

I let out a vent as I contemplated his words. He was right, of course. Pandimala was a conundrum that seemed to disorient all who met her. I had heard reports about her meetings with some of the other planetary leaders currently on Vestium Major. Mostly, they seemed to share our confusion regarding the femme. The only exception I found was the report about her meeting with King Poiman of Antiga Prime. The two of them had a rough beginning to their meeting, which included enough yelling to worry the guards outside the embassy. However, after the initial clicks of the meeting, the two were laughing and joking to the point where his guards checked them for a biological attack that induced laughter. However, that investigation turned out that they simply enjoyed speaking on a theoretical, though I didn't understand the hilarity of the subject.

How was plotting their own ends funny?

"And in that same thought," I picked up on where he started to speak, "She naturally interacts with the organic species, and they take naturally to her. I've been dreading getting reports of her unusual actions from them, yet I have not received a single misconduct report. That is despite the various cultures that those different embassies host."

Lord Oryax nodded at that. "A puzzle we will have to discover another solar. The representatives from Wern will want to start their meeting with you before their presentation. And, given the time you gave Pandimala to arrive for the exhibition, we should be going to that meeting soon. It may not be a good idea for her to meet them by interrupting your meeting. The representatives of Wern may not take that well. And given the situation we are currently in with them, that would not be wise."

He was right. "Let's head back then," I agreed before we returned to the palace.

However, as I walked, I thought about this exhibition. It was limited viewing to only myself and Seabreeze, Pandimala and Grinchain since he was her guide this solar, Lord Oryax and Ambassador Credax, Emperor Thav and Caigal, and the presenters from Wern. With such a small showing, I wanted to reduce the chance of anything going wrong. Given Pandimala's proclivity to trouble since her arrival on my planet, I was trying to take whatever preventive measures I needed to. And the guests for this presentation were set to ensure she wouldn't be antagonized into trouble. Our relationship with Wern was questionable at best right now, and I did not wish for any more trouble to come from this meeting.

Physis' 1st P.O.V.

While I understood Lord Dawnbreaker's reasoning for keeping me away from the exhibition with Wern, I thought he was making a mistake. While I understood that it may look like we were expecting trouble with Wern should Vestium Major's top medic be there, I felt there would be trouble. However, I doubted that trouble was going to come from Wern.

No, that honor was reserved for Pandimala.

Even though her healing process was moving incredibly well, much better than my best hopes had been, she seemed to find herself in more trouble every solar she was here. And that trouble seemed to vary in intensity. I couldn't imagine what her next issue was going to cause. And there would be a next issue. The femme was almost predictable in that.

And that predictability was not helped in that I knew she was keeping some of her medical history from me. I could see it when I would talk to her about how fast she was healing. Then there were the other issues. Pandimala was always nervous when speaking about her last deployment, yet there was no mention of said deployment in the information she gave me. From what I knew of the Cybertronian Civil War, few locations would cause the femme to have such reservations.

Those few locations were taken out, given the other worries that Lord Dawnbreaker, Lord Oryax, and Emperor Thav had brought up.

That meant that, for some reason, the femme felt like she couldn't tell us where she was. Perhaps it was an issue of trust? Given the situation that landed her here, I was surprised that the femme was as open with us as she was. If I was in her plating, I wouldn't have given them anything after being shot down. The fact that she gave me what she did on that initial medical report was amazing in itself.

Wait, that first report…perhaps there was something there that I had missed.

"Zipple, bring me the file on Pandimala," I sent my assistant a message as I cleared off two of the med berths to sit on. It took a few clicks, but soon, I had them cleared off so Zipple and I could review the file. If there was something I could find out in here, we would find it together. Since the mech had also interviewed Pandimala, he might have forgotten to place something that might explain more.

"I've got the file," I glanced up and saw Zipple walk in with the data pad in question.

Holding up a blank data pad, I held it out, and Zipple, having worked with me for a thousand stellars at this point, knew what I wanted him to do. Once the file was copied, he took a seat across from me. "I want us to go over everything we can in here. We are missing something in this file, and I want to figure out what it is. I know we were on the wire during this, given Pandimala's situation, but we overlooked a lot of information that we normally take from bots."

"Like what?" Zipple asked as he started to browse through the data.

As I studied the form Zipple had to fill out at the beginning of Pandimala's initial exam, I answered him. "Like where her last deployment was. We normally ask that to ensure any infectious diseases the bot in question may have come in contact with don't spread to us. Also, if they run into a rarer form of energon, we ensure it doesn't negatively affect them. Without knowing where Pandimala was, we don't know what she might have affecting her. We've been operating blind when we work on her. When she comes in for her next exam, I want to correct that."

"So, we are going through all of this to make sure we have everything recorded that we missed so we can get it from her later," Zipple filled in.

As we looked for any gaps in the file, I realized that there was more that Zipple could help me with. "Zipple, I was out of the room when you took her initial information. Do you remember anything odd that happened during that?"

The room was quiet for a few nanos as the mech seemed to think about that. At first, it looked like the mech had hit a block. However, an enlightened look came onto his faceplate after a few clicks as he nodded. "Knowing what we know about Pandimala now, there were some strange things that don't feel right now that I look back."

Really? I had just been asking the mech to think about anything we missed. However, if something about the femme seemed off to him during that, it might explain more about her. "Go on, what did you notice?"

Zipple motioned to the datapad as he answered me, "Well, it was how she answered a couple of the questions. When I asked her age, she said that she was twenty."

"Twenty thousand? You put that in your report." I was confused about what was strange about that. We knew Panidmala was a younger bot than she acted, but I didn't see any problems with how she answered that.

To my surprise, Zipple shook his helm. "No. Not twenty thousand. Just twenty. I thought she was saying her age in short form like many bots my age do." That was right. Zipple was thirty thousand, and many bots around that age gave the short answer, as annoying as it was to medical examiners when we asked them their age for formal settings.

Now, though, I saw what Zipple was saying. "Pandimala is a straightforward and precise femme with her answers. She wouldn't have just said the short form of her age. She would have given her full age." In the back of my processor, I was starting to see a picture of why the femme would have answered that way. But that couldn't be. There hadn't been a case like that since the time of the original Thirteen Primes, Primus' first creations. For it to have happened now seemed impossible. Perhaps Zipple's other observation would ease this idea in my processor. "What else did you notice, Zipple?"

He shook his helm at the question. "It was the strangest thing. But the only other question she answered weirdly was what race she was?" That worry started coming to the forefront of my helm as Zipple continued talking. "She hesitated when I asked her that. It was like she wasn't sure how she was supposed to answer that. I mean, she's obviously a Cybertronian, given everything we know about her. But she had to think about it. It was weird. Like she hasn't always been a Cybertronian."

Oh. Slag.

If my thoughts were correct, then there was a very good reason that Pandimala hesitated on the question of her race. And, as I thought about the other mysteries surrounding the femme, everything was falling into place. Glancing at my internal clock, I cursed as I saw that the exhibition being presented by Wern's representatives was already starting. "Slag it!" I got out before jumping off the berth and running out the door.

I barely heard Zipple's yells of confusion in the background as I raced to the room they were supposed to be in. Slag it! She kept that from us, and being in that presentation could be dangerous for both her and the representatives. Curse all of this! And, of course, the fragging presentation was on the opposite side of the fragging palace. Whichever bot decided that needed to be taken down a few levels. Scrap it all!

There was only one solution that allowed all of the facts. That allowed every strange aspect of Pandimala that had been noticed to be true. And while I felt angry that she hadn't told us this, I also understood why she didn't. Given everything that happened to her, she had no reason to trust us. That was especially with what I suspected to be the truth behind her. To be in such a vulnerable position and then thrust into the universal field would have been disorienting at least…and at most, it was existence-changing.

A ping from my private message system caused me to jolt to a halt as I saw who it was from. Grinchian. Oh, slag. I was already too late. With trepidation, I opened the private message and felt my optics widen in shock at what I read. Given what we just learned about Panidmala, I had expected many situations, but this was not one of them. Once I registered the words in his message, I sent a message back with my eta before I resumed my race to the presentation room.

Grinchain's message said that Pandimala was the center of a Code Nightingale.

Fifteen Clicks Earlier

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

I wasn't sure why, but I was feeling anxious. Sire had sent me a message to bring Pandimala to the exhibition room, where we were heading. However, something didn't feel right. I wasn't sure if it was instinct or some other power was at play, but I knew it was telling me we were heading for trouble.

"You're nervous," I glanced up at Pandimala and noticed her glancing down at me. "You're fiddling with your digits, and you tend to do that when you are nervous."

I glanced at my servos and, sure as slag, my digits were subconsciously moving against each other. So, I let out a vent. "I'm nervous about how this exhibition is going to go. Wern and Vestium Major aren't exactly on the best of terms, and with how limited the viewing of this new invention is, I'm worried that there may be more at servo. It's no secret that Wern and New Quintessa are close, and New Quintessa is one of the more aggressive member planets. None of my ancestors have gotten on with the squids, and to have such a close ally of theirs alone with sire and carrier makes me worry."

"Don't forget you are going to be there with me." Great, like that made me feel better.

"So if something happens, Firebrand takes over and makes everything else twenty times worse," I huffed in response.

To my surprise, she looked thoughtful at that. "Possibly, and it may be worse with me there. While your sire might have been able to speak to Lord Megatron and pay reparations for my offlining, your brother, as of now, has shown he is not as capable. And the Decepticons take care of our own. My offlining in such a way will cause the Decepticons to look to your enemies and Wern's enemies for allies. While I imagine that list is quite small right now, imagine what it would be like in three stellars if your brother took over. Four stellars even."

My spark felt like it was racing as she pointed out what might happen in the worst-case scenario of this exhibition. Holy slag, if Firebrand took over now, Vestium Major was fragging screwed. He had no berthside manner, which would turn our current and potential allies away from us. Add in the negotiating abilities that the Decepticons had shown as of late, and that was a recipe for them to rise even higher than Vestium Major currently was. "Maybe we shouldn't go. Worst-case scenario, you can lead a rebellion to help overthrow my brother and give Vestium Major to the Decepticons."

A laugh coming from Pandimala caused me to stare up at her in confusion. Why the frag was she laughing? I was fragging serious! "While I appreciate the openness to your plan, I doubt we will have to use it. From what I understand, there are only three bots representing Wern, while there will be eight of us who are not with them observing the presentation. I think I can hold off at least one of them; what do you think?"

Her saying that caused me to realize how crazy my thoughts had gone with that. I felt a blush on my faceplate as we kept walking. "Sorry about that. Guess I got carried away."

She laughed and nudged my shoulder, which caused me to laugh, before she said, "No, it is just our worst-case scenario. I am glad you would let me lead the rebellion against your brother to give Vestium Major to Lord Megatron, should all else fail." She then shook her helm. "Of course, thinking about the worst-case scenario is not bad. If I had, maybe things would have been different…"

It was strange how quickly the atmosphere around us changed. One nanoclick, we were laughing and having fun, and the next, we were in this awkward silence. Well, awkward for me anyway. Glancing at Pandimala, I saw that she seemed lost in the past. Just what happened where she was during her last deployment? This wasn't the first time she had drifted off like this, and I decided to take a leap of faith. "Pandimala, what would have been different?"

Her optics glanced toward me, and in that nano, I felt pain that no bot should have to go through when I looked at them. Whatever happened hurt her…and it hurt her more than I had ever seen a bot hurt. Before I could apologize for asking, Pandimala shook her helm. "Not now. We need to focus on the exhibition without any distractions." She then let out a vent before she glanced back at me again. I felt like she was searching my spark for an answer she didn't have. "If…if everything goes well with this exhibition, we can go somewhere private, and I'll tell you a little about it. Deal?"

A deal. What a Decepticon thing for her to do. I was a friend wanting to talk to her about her feelings, and she was making a deal out of it? I laughed at how Pandimala that was before I shook her servo. "Deal. Now, let's get in there. Sire is probably getting nervous that we are late."

She laughed and nodded at that, though she didn't say anything, as we walked inside the palace and headed to the room. As we walked, though, my processor finally caught up to me. If everything went well, I would learn about where Pandimala was before here. She had been evasive at best when talking about what she went through before here. Some vague stories, but nothing concrete. Nothing that would tell me more about where she was.

It was weird. Now that I thought about it, I had never heard of a Decepticon who didn't tell their stories as if the universe needed to listen to them. While they never told me them once they figured out who I was, I always heard tales and read reports about them doing just that on random outposts they would visit or when they were in crowded bars and bragging about who had done more for the Decepticons. From what I read, it was almost a mark of pride for Decepticons.

But Pandimala…she didn't say a word.

I was forced from that thought as we arrived and Pandimala opened the doors to the exhibition room. As we walked in, I noticed the covered machine in the center of the room. It looked smaller than I expected. It probably only took two of them to carry whatever that was in here. While it looked small, however, it also looked unbalanced. This was supposed to be something that would affect flyers. If it wasn't something to help with our flight capabilities or other aspects of our flying abilities, what could the frag be under there?

"Grinchain, Pandimala; thank you for joining us," Sire said, drawing all optics to the two of us.

Pandimala gave her helm-nod toward sire before she responded. "Greetings, Lord Dawnbreaker, fellow guests, and scientists of Wern," Pandimala said with a smile. But this one was smaller than the others she had. It felt almost automatic. "My thanks for allowing me to witness this breakthrough, and I apologize for the late arrival. I underestimated the crowds for the Fair."

Wait, she was taking the blame for us being late? We were both at fault for this. But, from the quick look she sent me, I realized she was doing this to help ease tensions. It would look better to the representatives of Wern if she, the Decepticon with no political gain from this, was the reason we were late instead of the youngest prince of Vestium Major. I'd have to thank her later.

The shortest among them, a gray and red bot about six meters tall, nodded toward her. "Quite understandable."

"I believe introductions are in order," Sire said as he motioned to himself. "I am Lord Dawnbreaker, ruler of Vestium Major. Besides me is my bondmate, Seabreaker," Carrier gave the polite nod he usually gave toward visitors. "Lord Oryax of Ethos and his ambassador to Vestium Major, Ambassador Credax,"

The towering leader gave a nod toward the scientists. "It is a pleasure," It didn't go by me that they looked nervous at Lord Oryax's introduction. Given the situation that we were in right now, that was understandable.

"Emperor Thav Partax of Eternia and his daughter, Caigal Partax." It was weird hearing his formal introduction. Emperor Thav hated formal introductions that used his last name, the concept of a familial name being common among organics, and the fact that sire used it told me he was worried about this meeting.

"My thanks for allowing my daughter and I to observe the proceedings," Emperor Thav spoke up.

The representatives gave a helm-bow toward Emperor Thav before sire motioned to Pandimala and me. "And my third youngest creation, Prince Grinchain, escorting the Decepticon Pandimala."

Thankfully, Pandimala took over the response part of this introduction. "My thanks for allowing my last click inclusion in these proceedings. Given the number of flying class Decepticons currently in Lord Megatron's ranks, I believe he will be most interested in your new invention."

The representatives seemed taken aback by Pandimala, though I couldn't be entirely sure for what reason before sire motioned to them. "And to my guests, I wish to introduce the representatives of The Society of Innovative Discovery of Wern. Lead scientist, Bastiev," The short grey and red bot gave a slight helm bow at the mention of what I assumed was his designation. "Lead Inventor, Bistrak," A red and black mech not much taller than Bastiev, gave the same sort of response at his designation, "And their guard, Sibathen, who I also believe is a top security enforcer back on Wern."

"That is correct, Lord Dawnbreaker," Sibathen responded to sire.

Bastiev then took over from him. "Thank you for the introductions, Lord Dawnbreaker. Now, as for our invention. We have been striving for one hundred stellar cycles to complete this project. One of the unique aspects of children of Primus with flying alt modes is the sensations that we gather experience with from our wings. Our wings guide many of us in how we move forward in our regular solar existences. We wished to make it possible to relive one of the most memorable clicks in any flyer's existence."

I felt my wings twitch as they picked up something strange. It was almost like panic. "Grin, I don't think I should be here."

Glancing at Pandimala from the corner of my optic, I noticed that she looked nervous and, something I had never seen from her before, afraid. Was this panic I was picking up coming from her? That didn't seem right. "We'll have to wait until the presentation starts," I told her. It would be insulting if a guest of sire's left before the presentation started. That was especially true since he took time to introduce her to the representatives of Wern.

The guard and the inventor took the cover off the device, and I stared in wonder at the different antennae branching from it. That must send out signals. But for what? "That one click allowed us to experience this new world of feelings and reactions. A sense of the world around us being opened for the first time."

"Grin, this might not," Pandimala started.

While she sounded concerned, and the worry she was giving off was causing my wings to twitch, I knew that with the situation between Wern and us, we needed to stay until the exhibition started. "Please, Pandimala, just until they start. It would look bad on sire if you, as his guest, and me as his creation, left before they even started."

While Pandimala looked torn, she finally nodded toward me. "I'll try," I had never heard Pandimala sound so unsure of something. But, if she was going to try, then I felt like I could focus back on the presenters. That could look poorly on sire if I looked like I wasn't paying attention. I needed to make sire proud, and I would. I knew how to behave during one of these. I would ask Pandimala what was bothering her after the presentation was over.

"What we have invented is a way for bots to relive the first time our wings sensed the world around us," The inventor started to press buttons on the machine, which began to cause said machine to hum to life as Bastiev continued to speak. "Our invention will allow bots to relive that first time their wings popped. Observe."

As soon as he spoke, the inventor flipped the switch.

Instantly, I felt like I was in paradise. The first time my wings popped, sire and carrier had sat with me, along with Physis, to ensure my sensors didn't overload my systems. I had sensed love, peace, and joy in such detail. I had never felt emotions like I did that solar. And now I felt that sensation flowing through my systems. I felt as if those same feelings were coursing through me. I wasn't in an exhibition hosted by a member planet that we were at odds with. I was in my room, surrounded by bots who cared about me. Sensing my siblings in neighboring rooms. It was bliss that I never wanted to,

Anger.

I came back to myself as I felt burning anger in the air. What...what was that? I hadn't felt that during my first wing pop.

Fear.

My spark was racing as I looked at the representatives. They looked just as jolted as I felt with this sudden change in the atmosphere around us.

Rage.

My wings twitched uncontrollably as I glanced toward sire and carrier. They looked shocked, but they were looking toward me. Or, more specifically, they were looking next to me. But why were they looking at…

Pandimala!

Fury.

Malice.

Hatred.

I immediately turned to Pandimala and felt my optics dilate in shock at what I saw. The confident and fearless femme I had gotten to know was sitting on the ground, a far-off look in her optics that seemed lost. These emotions were coming from her. But why was she feeling like this?

Pain.

My wings twitched violently as I picked up that feeling from Pandimala. This could only mean…she didn't have the same memories of her wings popping as I did. She didn't have bots who cared about her, helping her with the emotions around her. And she wasn't somewhere she had been safe. And, from what I could see, she was in processor shock.

Once I realized that, I also realized what we were dealing with, and I needed to make sure Physis was aware of what was going on. He would get word to Sandstorm and Scorchflint if sire hadn't already. So, as calmly as possible, I sent a message to the mech. "Physis, this is Grinchain. Vorassus Palace is to be placed on lockdown immediately. Pandimala is in a Code Nightingale."

Chapter Text

Emperor Thav's 1st P.O.V.

I felt like I was in some drug-induced simulation. If someone had told me that Pandimala, of all bots, would have reacted negatively to this machine, I would have thought they were losing their minds. Or processors. She was such a strong-willed bot with a good grasp on her mental state that seeing her like this was almost unbelievable. If I weren't personally seeing her like this right now, then I wouldn't believe it.

But that was where we were.

When the machine first started, I watched as all of the flying alt-mode bots in the room seemed to go off into a haze. From what I had been told in the past, the experience of popping wings for the first time was an intimate and wonderful sensation that friends helped guide a young bot through. The only bots in the room without flying alt modes were Lord Oryax, who had a treaded alt mode, and Bastiev, who had an average vehicle alt mode, had been looking around at the others. Of course, while I wasn't as affected by the machine as others here, I could feel a calming energy in the air.

I glanced over to Pandimala as the first emotions came from her.

To say that I was in shock was a gross understating of what I felt when I saw her. Whatever she went through during her original wing popping must have been terrifying for the femme. She was sitting pressed against the wall, looking like a caged animal. From how her optics were flicking to each being in the room, she was subconsciously keeping an optic on anyone her processor might perceive as an enemy.

"I'm placing the room on lockdown," Lord Dawnbreaker spoke slowly and calmly. "We are in a Code Nightingale."

Code Nightingale.

While anyone who came to Vestium Major knew what a Code Nightingale was, few still alive had ever experienced one. My grandfather, who has long since passed, was a young prince of Eternia when the Code was put into law. Duskmorrow, Lord Dawnbreaker's sire, had been the leader of Vestium Major at the time and was working on cleaning up the planet so that they could enter the galactic stage. While taking down a local drug kingpin, the strike team came across the kingpin's young creation, a femme called Nightingale. The femme showed apparent signs of abuse, and so she was taken in by a nice family. At first, it seemed like the femme would recover from the abuse she had suffered from her sire.

However, a simple accident caused chaos instead.

While playing with other younglings her age, one accidentally bumped into her wings. The impact caused the femme to flashback to the pain she suffered from her sire. This sort of reaction had never been seen on Vestium Major before, and, as any concerned parent should, her adopted creators tried to hold her and comfort her. However, when they touched her, it sent the femme into a processor break that she never recovered from. The young femme offlined a few solars later.

Lord Duskmorrow immediately sent out inquiries to his new allies to see if they might have known what had happened. Ethos, which was ruled by Lady Crotia, Lord Oryax's carrier, responded with information explaining what happened. When wings pop in a traumatic environment, the bot in question rarely comes out with a sound processor. In the rare cases that do occur, said bot is sensitive to stimuli similar to what they were around during the process. From their records, this sensitivity usually lasts a few thousand stellars after the incident.

However, looking at Pandimala brought up another question. While I understood the machine must have brought back those feelings, most flyers pop their wings a few thousand stellars after their creation. According to her file, Pandimala was twenty thousand. That would have given the femme time to overcome the sensitivity. At most, this should just be making her uncomfortable and not having a full-blown processor meltdown.

"Lord Dawnbreaker," Bastiev spoke neutrally, glancing toward Pandimala every so often as he did. "Did you know the femme was sensitive to this before our exhibition?"

I knew that answer before Lord Dawnbreaker spoke it. "No. Pandimala has been very guarded regarding her past. Given the circumstances that caused her to stay here on Vestium Major, we did not press her. Her inclusion in this presentation would have been refused if I had been aware of her condition."

Pandimala was extremely guarded about her past. And it showed in the little information we had on her. Vestium Major's, Ethos's, and Eternia's intelligence sectors had been trying to dig up anything about the femme—any mention of her designation in reports. However, we had come up empty. She was a mystery. At first, we assumed it was simply because she was a low-ranking soldier with no noteworthy experiences with the Decepticons. The femme herself had even admitted that she had recently joined the Decepticons. Of course, there was a vast spectrum with mechano-based beings, with the word 'recently'. Recent could be three days, or it could be three thousand years.

But, how the femme fought in her recovery training and interacted with the varying leaders who wished to meet with her told us that she had experience. And, since she said she was isolated as a youngling, she had to have gained that experience with the Decepticons.

"Does any being here know the femme well enough to help talk her out of this?" Sibathen asked, his optics not leaving the femme in question.

We all glanced at Grinchain, who shook his helm. "She didn't tell me much more than she told everybot else. Pandimala's good at getting information, but she keeps her information close to her." While the young mech tried to stay neutral in his speech, I could hear the worry in his vocals. And while that was telling of how close they were, it was not helping the femme now. "Young Grinchain, I want you to move away from the femme slowly," It seemed like Wern's lead inventor, Bistrak, caught onto this as well.

While Grinchain looked torn, he seemed to realize the severity of the situation at servo. So, he nodded before he moved away from Pandimala. Honestly, though, with how the femme was projecting her emotions, I didn't think it would make much of a difference. If I could feel the way she was feeling, being an organic, then I had a feeling she was reciprocating the emotions in the room just as powerfully. We had to be extremely careful right now.

"Pandimala," Lord Oryax spoke softly toward the femme. One of the studies done by various planets on this problem said that talking to them had sometimes brought a bot out of their panic. However, studies were still unsure as to why it only worked sometimes.

We all watched the femme to see if she reacted at all. However, she stayed in that same panicked state. "My Lord," Credax motioned for his leader to lean closer to him. What was he saying? Credax was a sharp mech who could react to most situations well. Whatever he was saying, it may be something he noticed about the femme. Hopefully, it was something that would help Pandimala.

"That may work," Oryax finally spoke out loud before looking back at Pandimala. "Pandimala, Lord Megatron is counting on you to be strong. You need to come back to your senses."

That might work. The femme made it no secret how much she admired and respected her Lord. Bringing him to the front of the femme's processor may be enough to snap her out of her panic. However, as the minutes passed, there was little change. If her Lord was not the catalyst to bring her out of this, I wasn't sure what would be strong enough to bring the femme to her senses.

Oryax and Credax had the right idea. If we were to get the femme focused again, we needed to bring up a subject that would grab her attention. Something that would surprise her enough, when said out loud, that she would bring herself back to conscious thought. Once she was at that point, we could let Physis in the room to get her back from this.

At this point, the mechano-based beings in the room sat on the ground. They were probably trying to appear less intimidating to the femme. That was a good delaying tactic, but something told me it wouldn't last long. Pandimala, even when she wasn't in this state, had a strong attachment to her emotions and understanding those around her. It wasn't a quality that was prevalent in mechano-beings, which was what made her unique. I had spoken to King Poiman the other day about trade matters between Eternia and Antiga Prime when the femme was brought up. I had never seen the leader so amazed with a mechano-being who wasn't under his planet's reach.

But, he had been. When he spoke to her, he said that she talked with him naturally. And she understood that, at times, yelling was necessary. That was especially true when the standard protocol wasn't followed, which happened when Pandimala didn't give him the proper greeting as the leader of a planet. The femme had been able to speak with Poiman, and Pandimala had been able to follow the chaotic nature in which he conducted business. Very few mechano-based species came from Chaos-centered gods, and Cybertronians were about as far from a Chaos god as their creator as a being could be. Order should be the way the femme operated her existence. Even in the most chaotic Decepticons, order always had a strong presence.

"Father," I glanced at Caigal as she whispered. "Perhaps we are looking at this in the wrong light. With everything that we have witnessed from Pandimala and how she acts, we may have been missing the obvious."

The obvious. What would the obvious be here? The femme had a solid connection to many instincts usually seen in organic beings; she had empathy for the struggles of organics, and, in opposition, Pandimala seemed almost unaware of instincts that mechano-beings should have. Recognizing those of a higher status was a sense that species like Cybertronians developed quickly, given their long existences. Not knowing who was in charge could be dire to them. Yet, Pandimala didn't show any of the proper reactions.

An answer was forming as I brought all of my thoughts together. And it was an answer that I was afraid was correct. If I was right, she was a being that hadn't existed since the times of the original Thirteen Primes of Cybertron. Should I be correct, this would have to be the catalyst that would snap her out of this state. It didn't seem possible, but I knew to anticipate chaos thanks to my interactions with Murav, the god of my people.

So, I walked to the edge of the platform Caigal and I were on. As I stopped, I noticed that Pandimala moved her focus to me. This was it. No going back now. "It is going to be alright, Lizzie,"

Immediately, her intakes seemed to freeze, her gaze wavering as it seemed to bore into me. After a few minutes, her optics dimmed, and her helm leaned back against the wall behind her. That, of course, caused a number of the bots in the room to panic until a figure appeared next to me. She was in her soliform.

Her soliform glanced up at me in tears before, to my surprise, she darted to me and hugged me as if she would fall into the Pit if she didn't hold onto me. She needed comfort, and now, she must feel more secure in her solifrom than in her chassis. When she started to cry, I instinctively wrapped an arm around her to support her before placing a hand on her head. I hadn't had to comfort someone like this since Caigal was in her growing years.

"I'm sorry," Pandimala whispered as if she feared getting in trouble.

Shaking my head, I patted her head a few times before responding to her. "You have nothing to apologize for, Pandimala. Nothing at all." The room seemed to have stilled when this all started unraveling. While I knew she needed time, we needed to have Physis come in and check her. "Pandimala, do you think you will be alright with having Physis come in and look at you?"

The room grew tense as we all waited for the soliform to answer. After a few moments, which felt like an eternity, Pandimala gave a slight nod. "Yeah…I'll be okay,"

I noticed Lord Dawnbreaker immediately go for his comm at her word. However, as he did, I looked down at the soliform clinging onto me. Pandimala, responding to her soliform's designation and taking this form to be comforted, told me that my previous thoughts on her identity were accurate. Despite the odds, Pandimala was a phenomenon called a new spark. She started her existence as an organic, more than likely the one she had as her soliform, and events beyond our comprehension caused her to change into Pandimala.

Later, we would find out the answers. For now, though, the femme was scared and still on the verge of a breakdown. Pandimala had saved me from a political coup that was part of a larger plot to cause destruction. Being here for her right now was the least I could do.

Lord Oryax's 1st P.O.V.

As Physis looked over the femme, whom he refused to move due to her delicate disposition right now, I felt like I was finally coming out of shock. I had been so excited about this machine's uses that I hadn't thought about the possible repercussions. While I knew most of those that would be affected in the room, and I was sure that Wern had picked their representatives with this exhibition in processor, I hadn't considered the one bot whose history was a mystery.

Pandimala.

We had known she was hiding information about her past. We knew that. And yet, we hadn't stopped to think if this could affect her. It was sloppy and not a mistake I was going to make again. For now, though, we needed to comfort the femme while getting whatever answers we could from her. While it was a harsh reality, the truth was that Pandimala would be easier to get answers from in this state. While I did not wish for her to go through this, we shouldn't waste this opportunity.

"Pandimala," We all glanced at Physis as he addressed the femme, who was still in soliform clinging to Thav as if he was her spark support. "Your chassis should be able to support your processor without falling into the panic you were just in." He then motioned toward said chassis. "Are you ready to go back?"

I focused on the femme as she seemed to debate his question, as simple as it was. I half expected her to keep hanging onto Thav. He was the one who discovered her identity, and that would make the femme closer to the labac than to any other being on this planet right now. He was the reason she was able to ground herself as she did. It took a strong being, mechano or organic, to pull oneself out of a trauma-induced shock as she did.

After a few nanos, the femme gave a slow nod before she hesitantly let go of Thav. It took the femme a few more clicks, nervously glancing at each of us as she did before her soliform shimmered and vanished. Clicks of silence passed by before the femme's systems whirred to life, chassis preparing to operate after the trauma she had to relive. It took a few clicks longer than average, but eventually, Pandimala's optics onlined, and I noticed that she was glancing nervously between all of us.

"Pandimala," I glanced at Grinchain, who sounded hesitant as he spoke to the femme. "I'm so sorry. You wanted to leave, and I asked you to stay."

The femme's optics focused on the mech, though I noticed those optics twitched before she shook her helm. "I…I could have left." Her vocals were just above a whisper as she answered him. "I thought it might bring up memories…not that. This is partly my fault."

Before the young mech could say anything back, though it looked like he wanted to do just that, Physis took over. "Pandimala, before we continue, there are certain medical questions that I need to re-ask you. Given the situation this solar, I think it would be best if you answered them the best you can."

Pandimala moved her gaze to Physis, and I could see the hesitation in her optics. Even in this state, the femme was not one to trust easily. While I could respect that, we needed answers. Pandimala was destined to remain on this planet for the foreseeable future, and we needed to be prepared should a situation like this happen again. "We can't risk a situation like this again," I said. Her optics snapped to me as I continued. "Given all that has happened, would you want to place Lord Dawnbreaker and the rest of us in such a precarious position?" I had to watch what I said, given that the representatives of Wern were still here. And, while I wanted to send them away, they had every right to know what was happening since their invention set this into motion.

Pandimala kept her optics locked on me before she let out a vent and looked to Physis. "Ask your questions, Physis." The sole fact that Pandimala didn't call him 'doc', which she tried to do when she could, told me how seriously she was taking this.

"I think you may have an idea about the first question I am going to ask," Physis started. "Besides a Cybertronian, have you ever been a member of a different species?"

Pandimala looked as if she was disassociating with us as she answered the mech. "Yes. I was human."

While I had a feeling that was how she would answer, it was still startling to hear, given all that was happening. And to have been human before this, no less. Humans were not the most well-known species, but enough was known about them that I knew they had a relatively short lifespan compared to many species in the known universe. And, while I knew that they matured far faster than most species, most planetary hosts only took the word of a human as being spoken by a fully formed being once they reached the age of fifty stellars, over halfway through their lifespan. It wasn't fair to them. However, given the rarity of the species away from their homeworld, that was the best many could do with the limited information they possessed.

"Pandimala, how old are you?" Physis asked though I noticed that he had tensed since his last question.

The femme remained quiet after that. She seemed to be debating on whether or not to answer the question. I couldn't fault her for that. Given my thoughts, she must realize that her age may be used against her once it was known to all of us. Even though the femme had proven just how sharp and well-honed her processor was, that might just be thrown into the Pit once her age was said. "Twenty,"

There it was. However, it seemed as if Physis was not taking any chances. "Twenty what, Pandimala?" While he was not harsh, anybot could hear the urgency behind his question.

"Twenty stellars,"

Twenty stellars. This femme, who had survived a hit from Vestium Major's defense system, controlled her snaps faster than any triple changer to solar, and carried a wisdom greater than the age of her entire species, was twenty stellars. There were trade agreements that took longer to make between species, and this femme had experienced so much in that time.

And that was just what she experienced as far as we were aware. Given our situation, it was obvious that her wings had come out at a poor time. It could have even been an enemy attack, depending on how long she had been a Cybertronian. Given that we had already ruled out Earth as a potential station for her before this, that left a servo-full of planets she could have been on. Factoring in atmospheric requirements that humans needed to function and their reach from their other holdings left us with even fewer options.

"Where were you stationed?"

For the first time since this situation started, a hard look came on Pandimala's faceplate before she shook her helm. "No. I can't tell you." While she didn't look like she would break down again or snap, she did have a panicked look on her faceplate.

"Where were you, Pandimala?" I glanced at Dawnbreaker with a worried look. The mech had an edge to his vocals that I rarely heard. He wasn't happy. Though, what he wasn't happy about, I couldn't be sure of.

In turn, Pandimala glared back at the leader. "I already told you I can't tell you." Her answer was clipped and restrained.

This was turning into a disaster.

"If you won't tell me where you were stationed, then I can only surmise that you were on a Decepticon-allied planet. It is no secret that experiments performed by the Decepticons during their Civil War edged the ethical lines that we hold in the Galactic Alliance. Your creation must have come from those experimentations and is proof that the Decepticons have crossed a line they cannot return from," Pandimala was standing, a surprised and angry look on her faceplate before Lord Dawnbreaker continued. "Pandimala, you will be barred from leaving Vestium Major as a material witness to this affront. Once the Advancement Fair is finished, I will file charges with the rest of the Alliance. The Decepticons will turn over the scientists responsible for this or face embargos from all Alliance members and their allies."

The temperature of the room seemed to drop fifty degrees in an instant. When I glanced toward Pandimala, I felt my spark freeze in terror when I saw Pandimala's look: cold, detached, and murderous all at once. And that look was directed toward Dawnbreaker. "You blame the Decepticons simply because I will not disclose my station?" Her words were slow and deliberate. "Very well. If you indeed file those charges, then I will not hesitate to file charges against Vestium Major for transgressions against myself that have directly violated Galactic Law."

"Vestium Major is paying for the wrongs to you, Pandimala. You would have no claim," Dawnbreaker spoke back to her as if he was speaking to a misbehaving sparkling.

"That debt is not yet paid in full, though that does not matter," Pandimala kept calm, which in itself was haunting. The femme was known for her empathy and emotional reciprocation. We were witnessing none of that now. "If you blame the Decepticons for a crime they are not at fault for, and the Galactic Alliance allows it, then my claim will also be recognized." She then turned to leave.

"Where are you going? We still have more to speak on." Lord Dawnbreaker said. I could see that this situation had shaken my friend. I still couldn't quite believe what was happening.

Pandimala stopped at the door and turned to face Dawnbreaker. "You have already shown me you do not wish to speak. You want to demand answers that I cannot give you. Until you come to your senses and treat me as the adult I am instead of the sparkling you see; I will no longer reside in the palace. I'm sure Iussa wouldn't mind hosting me for the time necessary for you to get your helm out of your aft." The femme then left the room.

While I could see that Dawnbreaker wanted to chase after the femme, the representatives of Wern were still here, looking about as out of place as I was feeling at the nano. "My apologies for the situation. My thanks for you in presenting your invention. Please return to your embassy and send my thanks to Lord Keadal for allowing you to travel here." While the three looked hesitant to leave, they must have realized they wouldn't get answers from the idiot next to me. So, they bowed their helms and gave their platitudes before they departed.

"Sire," Grinchain, to my surprise, started to speak. "How could you treat her like that?"

Those words seemed to trigger a response from his sire. "She is a sparkling Grinchain. A sparkling! She was forced to endure existence-changing torture when you were just learning to walk about confidently."

"Says you!" My optics about shot out of my helm when the young mech growled that, his wings twitching. "You heard her. The Decepticons didn't do that to her!"

"Pandimala would have had no idea what they were doing!" Dawnbreaker snapped, standing from his seat.

However, spending time with said femme seemed to have given Grinchain more of a spinal strut than I ever imagined. "She knows more than you! She's open-processored and realizes when we can't answer her questions. Obviously, the place she was stationed was restricted information. Maybe it was because of what happened to her? Did you think about that? Or are you too high on your throne to see what mere mortals might think?"

"Enough!" I had never seen Dawnbreaker look so furious at one of his creations. "Spending time with Pandimala has made you forget your manners, Grinchain. Scorchflint!" I felt confused when said mech stepped into the room. When did Dawnbreaker call him? "Remand Grinchain to the holding cells for a few solars. Perhaps that will allow him to see reason."

Instead of trying to take back what he said, I felt proud of the young mech when he held his helm up and glared at his sire. "It will save me from being in the presence of a fool, at least." Scorchflint placed stasis cuffs on the young mech before he escorted Grinchain out. Seabreeze looked shocked at his bondmate, and I couldn't blame the mech. Perhaps it was the stress getting to the mech. While I wasn't sure what was causing Dawnbreaker to panic like he was, I knew he needed time to think.

Or, from the look Seabreeze was giving the mech, when his bondmate snapped him out of it.

As I left the room with Credax, since it was clear that this had devolved into a family matter, I allowed myself to worry. Pandimala, while much younger than we thought, had shown a sharp processor and a staggering ability to make alliances. That was evident in how Grinchain had stood up to his sire as he did. I did not doubt that Seabreaker would follow Grinchain's lead in some way once he discovered what Dawnbreaker had done. Her threats before she walked out of the room were clear. If Lord Dawnbreaker attacked the Decepticons for the information we found out in any way, Pandimala would respond in kind. She didn't say it in so many words, but she didn't have to. We had seen the evidence for ourselves. The fact that her snaps were centered around Lord Megatron and her loyalty to him and the Decepticons, then she may offline somebot if she felt she needed to.

Thoughts on her snaps made me realize there was a mech who needed to know about this that was not yet involved. "Sandstorm, it's Lord Oryax. We need to talk."

"Something happened at the demonstration. Please tell me Pandimala didn't attack one of the representatives?" While he seemed to realize something had happened, he wasn't quite there yet.

"I wish it was that simple."

"What do you mean? That was my worst-case scenario! What the frag happened?" The triple changer demanded over the line.

I couldn't stop the vent that escaped me. "Meet Credax and me in a private room at Teklan Hall. And brace yourself." I then ended the line.

"Lord Oryax, what are we going to do?" Credax asked as we made our way to the location. "Taking our personal feelings about Pandimala off the table for now," Yes, because most in the embassy, if not everybot, agreed that Pandimala was a great femme. "What are we going to do? If word reaches the Decepticons about this, we could be in trouble. That is especially true given the troubles we have been having in the Alliance. Add in the fact that representatives of Wern were in there to see that, and I'm concerned."

"I know. I'm concerned as well. We will talk to Sandstorm when we get to the Hall. Hopefully, he will have some insight, given the training he has been doing with Pandimala." I agreed with my Ambassador as we made our way through the crowds. The crowds that were blissfully unaware of the trouble that was brewing. If we didn't get this settled soon, it would overflow into one of the biggest disasters the Galactic Alliance had seen in my existence.

Chapter Text

Seabreaker's 1st P.O.V.

This was a cluster-slag of a solar. I didn't get much time to relax these solars, but I thought I would be alright with this one. Look around at a couple of the displays and pick up a few odds and ends for sale. And, at first, that was how my solar went. Ever since Pandimala had come, it was the closest solar I had experienced to normal in a while.

Then, the message from Grinchain came through.

From the little he sent, some information came out about Pandimala, and sire reacted less than gracefully. Grinchain had said a lot worse, but I needed to keep a calm processor. Otherwise, I would be in a holding cell next to my brother. From the end of Grinchain's message, Pandimala was temporarily moving out of the palace and in with Iussa until sire saw reason.

Honestly, I knew sire. And I knew that it might take too long for that to happen. So, it was time to take things into our own servos. And the best way to start was for me to meet with Lightbeam and strategize with her. While I was the more rational sibling not in trouble right now, Lightbeam had connections. Through her network, we could accomplish much more than working with just our family. That was a lesson that I had learned from Pandimala. Despite whatever information was known about her, she more than proved her capabilities.

"Breaker, sorry it took me so long," I turned as Lightbeam approached me. "I was getting more information from Grin about what happened between Pandimala and sire. From what he found out, she is a newspark."

It took me a few nanos to remember what a newspark was. In recorded galactic history, there had only been one other newspark. That was back during the age of the original thirteen primes of Cybertron. "Really?" While I didn't think Lightbeam was lying, it seemed so incredible that I had to question it.

She nodded as we started to walk away from the crowds. "Really. She is twenty stellars old, and sire is treating her as if she is a sparkling."

"No wonder Grinchain went off on sire," I commented before I shook my helm. "We need to keep an audio on the others who were in that room. See what they are thinking?"

Lightbeam smiled. "That's what I was thinking too. So, I have the others outside of Glein," She motioned to her side, and I saw that Glein was following us at a distance where we could still talk privately. Pandimala had been wise to get carrier and sire to agree to have Lightbeam's friends be her guards. They were more effective than the guards they assigned to us. "Following the bots Grinchain told me were a part of that meeting. Caigal and Emperor Thav aren't happy with how sire is handling this, so I sent Filan to act as an intermediate to keep communication open. Coyode will see how Lord Oryax is taking the news while Giro is keeping an optic on the Wern embassy to see if he picks up anything from the scientists that were in the room."

Frag. Interacting with Panidmala had turned Lightbeam from a delinquent to an information-gathering special ops leader with her friends as her team. "That's good. But that doesn't help us try and get sire to see reason." Since she had been in contact with Grin more than I had been, she might be able to fill in some gaps for me. "Was it just her age that caused sire to brush Pandimala off as a sparkling?"

Lightbeam shook her helm. "No, Grinchain mentioned that Physis and sire both tried to get the location of Pandimala's last deployment from her. But she said she couldn't tell them that. It was that refusal that pushed sire over the edge."

Where she was last stationed? I guess, with her age, that would tell sire what might have happened to cause Pandimala to turn into a newspark. "And sire didn't seem like he was going to budge?"

"No. Grin made that very clear. And the fact that sire was refusing to answer my comm to him tells me he probably won't listen to any of us close to Pandimala."

"Then I see two points that we need to work on." We turned to head toward the rail station as I continued to speak. "I need you and your friends to look into any information about the Decepticon activity in the past twenty stellars. We don't know when Pandimala was changed, so we need to search for her entire life span. And check any planet that has human settlements on it. Grin said she couldn't have been on Earth, but we'll check there eventually. With sire in this state, we need to keep our options open. If we can figure out where Pandimala was stationed,"

"That might show sire why Pandimala couldn't tell him where she was deployed. Just because she can't tell it doesn't mean we can't look." Lightbeam finished before she motioned to me. "But, what's the second point? I'm guessing that's what you are going to be doing?"

I nodded before motioning to the rail station we had stopped by. "If we can't find the information we need to snap sire out of this lunacy he is in, then we need the help of the only bots who can."

"You don't mean?"

"Yes," I interrupted her before she said their designations out loud. Or before she said what they were to sire. "Outside of carrier, who doesn't seem to be having any luck with sire given that Grin is in a holding cell right now, they are the only ones that sire might listen to. Honestly, I don't even think Iussa could scare sire out of this." Though to be fair, Iussa seemed less grandiose after she met with Pandimala.

My sister nodded her helm before she stuck out her servo. "Good luck, brother."

Smiling, I took her servo in mine. "You too." I then went into the rail station and paid my fare before getting on the train. This was going to be dicey at best. The bots I was going to see were not going to be happy to hear what sire had done. But, given how stubborn sire could be, they were our only option.

The ride to Quenin took about forty clicks, with three stops I had to wait at. Quenin was a small settlement far enough away from Tocania where bots weren't as affected by the political atmosphere the city could have. I was supposed to take Pandimala here during our next guide session. The two bots I was going to visit would adore Pandimala. The one, especially since she wasn't a native of Vestium Major.

It was about a ten-click walk from the station to the humble home of the bots I was coming to see. I stared at the blue door for a few nanos before I let out a vent and knocked. From inside, I could hear the sounds of bots moving about. Of course, they weren't expecting me this solar. They must not have been ready for company. "Coming!" I heard a mech yell from the inside. After a few more nano clicks, the door finally opened to a seeker who was my height. His black and gray plating shimmered in the sun as the mech stared at me with orange optics. Our optics stayed locked for a few more nanos before he beamed. "Seabreaker! We weren't expecting you until next solar. Where is this friend you wanted to introduce us to?"

"She's why I'm here this solar," I answered the mech.

The smile on his faceplate slowly waned before he motioned me inside. Nodding in thanks, I walked in and sat down on the couch. "What happened?" The femme of the house asked as she walked in with a tray of energon.

Taking one of the cubes, I waited for them both to sit down before I started to speak. This would be a long story, and I knew they wouldn't be happy with sire once I was done speaking.

Lightbeam's 1st P.O.V.

"Anything on your end?" I asked Glein as we sat in the study room. We needed to find something about where Pandimala was stationed before she started to travel to Pyrovar. But Grinchain wasn't kidding about the lack of information about Pandimala. So far, we had checked three out of the five planets that had humans as a registered species on the planet. We had every single record that we could get our servos on at our disposal, and so far, not a single trace of Pandimala anywhere on their rosters. It was getting frustrating.

"Nothing," Glein answered me as he leafed through the reports on his end of the table. The only good thing about doing this research was that Grinchain had a permanent room with this stuff in it. Granted, there weren't many bots who looked for the information, but the point was there. "So far, I haven't seen anything about humans working with the Decepticons on these planets, let alone joining them." He then held up another large file that Saboal had brought about thirty clicks ago. "I even had Saboal bring me missing person reports from those planets, and no being matching her soliform's description has been reported. If the Decepticons did this, which, given what we've seen from Panidmala, I doubted, they didn't take a human from these planets so far. Saboal will bring me the reports from Epsilon Delta and Earth."

Hopefully, there were some answers in those. As I was looking through the reports from Epsilon Delta, I was starting to think that Earth might be the place that held our answers, despite Grinchain's insistence to the contrary. It was a recent hub of Cybertronian activity in the past stellars, and it was a planet ruled and run by humans. The odds of a human interacting with the Decepticons seemed reasonably high. However, given Grinchain's insistence, I was holding off on that until last.

"I'm back with those files you requested," Glein and I both turned as Saboal spoke up. However, once I looked at the doorway, I jumped to my pedes when I saw Filan and Coyode walk in with Lord Oryax, Ambassador Credax, Emperor Thav, and Caigal. We all stared at each other as Saboal put the files on the table. He glanced between all of us before he shook his helm. "I don't want to know. Just try not to destroy the room. Grinchain will have my aft if something gets damaged." The mech then made a hasty retreat.

The room was silent for a nano before Coyode spoke up. "I'm not sure about Filan, but Lord Oryax asked what was being done to help Pandimala and Grinchain, so I told him about your message. Once he found out you were looking up any history you could on Pandimala, he demanded that he come and help."

Filan nodded and motioned to the two labac. "The same. I tried to hail your comm to let you know. But, given the communication blocks in the private rooms, my attempts didn't go through."

Before I could say anything about what was happening, the others sat in the chairs surrounding the table. "No use wasting time. While Pandimala should be fine for a while, I heard enough about what happened during her first meeting with Iussa to know that the femme may drive the goddess insane if we don't get Lord Dawnbreaker to see reason." Lord Oryax spoke.

"Speaking of reason," Caigal interrupted as everyone started to look into the files. "Where is Seabreaker? I was led to assume he was a part of this."

Since they were helping and the rooms were secured, I didn't think it would hurt to let them in. "He is working on a contingency plan. If we can't find information to sway sire from his thinking, he's gone down to Quenin to get the only bots sire might listen to right now."

Lord Oryax and Emperor Thav both seemed startled at my revelation. I guess they knew the reputations of the bots in question enough to know that we weren't pulling any stops on this one. Sire needed to see reason. And if we couldn't get him to, they were our only hope. "A bit extreme, but you may be right," Lord Oryax agreed. "They may be the only ones to make Lord Dawnbreaker see sense. Hopefully, Sandstorm can help avoid that extreme. He went to try and talk with your sire, though I told him not to hold his intakes." Well, good luck to Sandstorm. He was going to need it.

After that, we all fell into our research. However, I was worried. Why weren't we finding anything about Pandimala? She was new to the Decepticons. However, given her confidence and how she dealt with the leaders she had met, there must be something here. Something that we could look back on and show sire that, despite her age, Pandimala wasn't a sparkling.

To be fair to sire, no bot in living memory had ever interacted with a newspark before. None of us were sure we were taking the right path. What we could go off of, however, was how Pandimala had acted since she got here. And despite my reluctance to attend that first meeting she had to discuss Seabreaker's and Firebrand's punishment, that meeting was our most unbiased view of Pandimala. At that point, the only thing we knew about her was that my two brothers had shot her down.

In that meeting, she had been poised and level-helmed. She allowed Firebrand to speak even though he was being an aft about it. But, she wasn't oppressive about how she acted during that. Pandimala could have demanded anything from my brothers for what they did to her, and sire would have had to allow it. But, she was thoughtful in her punishments, though I didn't even see it entirely at the time. She was forcing them to grow up. While Firebrand still didn't get that, Seabreaker more than realized it.

The one time I questioned her on her choices, the guide program specifically, she answered me with logic instead of the emotion one would see from a bot with the processor of a sparkling. And even when Grinchain jumped on the chance to spend time with her, much to my annoyance at the time, Pandimala had been open to it. Though, now that I looked back on it, she did seem nervous about him. It was probably his overexcitement about it all.

Shaking my helm out of that meeting, I picked up the closest datapad and started reading the files. This was strange. It was about the Decepticon fight on Earth. From what I could see, we didn't have much on the subject. And the fighting there was done already. Both sides had pulled away from the planet from one of our newest reports. The Autobots went to Cybertron to revitalize it, while the Decepticons traveled to Pyrovar to start the construction of their new home. So, if Pandimala was on Earth during this campaign, why didn't we have a record of it? Moreover, how did she end up traveling from the direction of Cybertron instead of using the Decepticon space bridge technology to travel with the others?

Shaking my helm, I continued to surf through the reports until I paused. This was a new name, though it wasn't one that I associated with Pandimala. This might be our first step in getting sire to see his error if this was her. "This might be something," I said, causing the others to look at me. "There is a report here from the fighting on the planet Earth,"

"I thought Grinchain said she couldn't have been on Earth?" Glein asked.

"Why couldn't she?" Lord Oryax asked. Since the four of them weren't privy to what I knew from Grinchain, it made sense that he was asking.

I motioned to the datapad and answered Lord Oryax first. "Grinchain made that assumption based on the fact that Pandimala had come from the wrong direction and that the Decepticons on Earth used one of their space bridges to go directly from Earth to Pyrovar." I then looked at Glein. "But we are running out of options. We've gone through every file from three of the five planets that have humans registered as a species on the planet. You all got the files for Epsilon Delta, so I figured I would start on the files from Earth."

Emperor Thav shook his head. "So what did you find?"

I sent the file in question to each of them as I read it. "There is a report here about a mission the Decepticons had launched. Apparently, they were looking for relics sent to Earth millions of stellars ago. The report we got on the mission mentions an operative called 'Coordinator'. Planned out the mission, and that mission, from this report, was a success. This being isn't mentioned much in it, but it's the only instance I have seen where we have a being mentioned that we don't have files on." This might be something. Maybe I was just grasping for hope, but I would take what I could get at this point.

"I think we should focus on the files on Earth. It's the only real lead we have right now," Ambassador Credax voiced his agreement.

There seemed to be a consensus around the room, so files on Earth were distributed to everybot. Somewhere in these datapads was the answer we were looking for. The connection that would let us show sire that he was wrong in his assumptions about Pandimala. This had to work. With everything that Pandimala had done for us, for me, she deserved our best. And by Iussa, I was going to give it to her.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"Thanks for taking me in on such short notice," I thanked the goddess again as we sat down in her throne room. Thankfully, we were alone.

When I arrived, I caused a little bit of a stir. I wasn't asked to come, and given how my first meeting with the goddess went, her guards were still a little nervous about me. So, my walking straight in without stopping at the outside guard threw them off. However, Iussa had changed since that first meeting with her, and she let me say the reasoning behind my abrupt arrival.

To say that she wasn't happy with Lord Dawnbreaker was an understatement.

Thankfully, she said I could stay with her until things got settled. Out of every being on this planet, she was the only one who knew the truth behind me. Of course, that was partly because of what happened at that first meeting. I had lost partial control of myself, and she sensed the dark energon in my lines. It was what initially scared her. I knew I had a lot in my chassis. Dark energon, that is. How couldn't I? I was born from a species begotten from his very chassis, had the substance injected into me when I was still human, and when I offlined, I fell to that same chassis, which allowed the god to fill my empty lines solely with dark energon to revive me, and thus himself. Dark energon, as much as it scared me at times, was a part of my being that I had to accept.

After speaking with Iussa during her little stunt, I saw confusion and hope in her optics. I still wasn't sure what she had to be hopeful for, but the confusion was what I needed to talk to the goddess about. Once we were alone, I told her. With the promise that she would keep this information to herself, swearing to Primus to keep that promise, I told her what happened. It was a time in my existence that I was still getting over. In all accounts, I offlined. I had been in that dark, cold, and unforgiving state that followed offlining.

And then Unicron took over my chassis. Even though I was offline, I could still feel the pain as the dark energon coursed through my chassis. The chaos smothered my very being with actions and thoughts that weren't mine. I was trapped, and I couldn't fight back. Being ripped from the dark and cold I was experiencing to the pain was too much for my processor to comprehend at the nano. And then everything that happened on Cybertron happened. I had fought Unicron's control, and I took back my chassis. I should have offlined since I had never taken the dark energon as a bot before. Yet here I was, online and pissed off at a fragging leader who thought he knew better.

Fragger.

What would I tell him? 'Oh yes, I was a human who was attacked by an unknown Autobot, and then by two Decepticons who aren't Decepticons anymore, and after all that, I offlined at the servos of Autobots just to be brought back to life by the fragging god of Chaos? Because that was so believable. So, since that wasn't believable, despite being the whole truth, I said that I couldn't tell him.

And deep down, a part of me was afraid to tell anyone about what happened. It was too fresh, and it was too personal. Offlining wasn't something bots came back from every solar, and having him understand what I went through on Earth was simply impossible. That was especially true with how he was taking this. I wouldn't give him the answer, so he assumed the worst-case scenario was the best one. If he went through with his threat, I would ensure I went through with mine.

"Given the circumstances," Iussa responded as she sat beside me, an energon cube in each servo. "I don't mind. Dawnbreaker is a lot more like Firebrand than he thinks he is. If shown that he is wrong about something before figuring it out, he will do whatever he can to keep that thought. Convincing him to stand down on his threat won't be easy." She then handed me the extra cube she had before she let out a vent. "I'm not even sure I could convince him to step back."

"Great." If the goddess that he was so fearful of wouldn't be able to snap him out of this, then making Vestium Major my enemy might be the only path forward. And frag it; I worked so hard to prepare them for an alliance with the Decepticons! "So I wasted my time trying to ally with him." Frag it. I hated wasting time. Instead of all the work I had been doing to further this future alliance, I could have met with other leaders who weren't so frustratingly stubborn.

"I wouldn't say that you wasted your time," I glanced at Iussa as she sipped her energon. "I've seen the work that you have done, and I know that it has made an effect." I must have looked confused because when the goddess looked back at me, she let out a frustrated vent. "For a being upset at how blind Dawnbreaker is, you aren't seeing the bigger picture yourself." She then motioned toward the doors that led outside. "You've made close bonds with several beings on this planet. I've seen changes in them that I never thought I would see. That is especially true with Dawnbreaker's creations."

"Three of them, maybe," I agreed as I started to see what Iussa was saying. But, it wasn't with all of his creations, though. Firebrand seemed to be just as much of an aft as he was the first solar I met him.

"All of them," I raised an optic ridge at the goddess as she said this. All of them? "You haven't seen it because you don't spend time with Firebrand, for obvious reasons. However, that may have worked in your favor. My sources say that he isn't quite as close as he was with his friend Sharpstreak. It seems the stunt Alaran's creation pulled with you during your snap training is the cause of his new hesitation."

Wait, who the frag was Alaran? "Alaran?"

"The god of Pova," Iussa clarified for me. "He's order-centric like I am, though he has more chaos influencing him than I do." Thank the Allspark Iussa picked up on the fact that I liked shot explanations if I could. "Anyways, it seems like Firebrand asked the mech about what he did to you, which didn't go over well. You may want to try speaking with Firebrand once this blows over. Once the young heir hears about what is happening to you and why, he may be more open to speaking politely with you."

Everybot I talked to about Firebrand seemed to say he was a good bot at spark. With Iussa vouching for him, I would meet with him. But it wouldn't be right away. This cluster-slag of a storm my involuntary flashback caused needed to settle first. Then, I would see if Firebrand was changed enough to be added to this guide program. It was later than I hoped, but it would still be better than nothing if it worked out.

"We'll see," I wasn't going to give her a definite answer yet. I needed to see how this all played out. "For now, I will agree with you about the other three. I've seen the change in them."

"From what I heard after you got here, that change is even more apparent. Before your arrival, I'm sure that there would have been nothing that would have caused Grinchain to defy his sire as he did to defend you." I turned to Iussa quickly when she brought that up. What the frag happened to Grinchain after I left?

"Is he okay?" I needed to know if he was alright. The wildcard of everything here on Vestium Major, and he had turned himself into a good friend. Great even.

Iussa gave a so-so motion with her servo. "He's fine, but he has been put in a holding cell for his defense of you. Of course, from what I heard, said defense included calling his sire a fool."

My optics widened at that piece of information. Slag, I didn't see Grinchain going that far. But his sire was acting like a fool, so I also respected it. Even if that earned him time locked up, I'd make sure that whatever negotiations I had to enter with Lord Dawnbreaker included his immediate release. "So he's okay," I said more to respond to Iussa than anything.

However, the goddess nodded all the same. "Yes, and he isn't the only one helping you. The allies that you have made are working together to make plans. I'm sure Dawnbreaker will see reason." As she continued speaking, I noticed a worried look cross the goddess' faceplate. "One of their plans involves getting bots involved who will not take Dawnbreaker's actions lightly." Before I could ask Iussa who they were, she shook her helm. "But, it's better if I didn't mention them until I am sure they will get involved."

Given that the last time I saw that look on her was when I confronted her, I had a feeling that whoever these bots were, they would make a significant impact. "Let me guess, they had to bring you out of your pride too?"

To my surprise, the goddess shivered and took another drink of energon before she nodded. "While yours is the most terrifying rebuttal to me in all of my time in existence," Glad to know I could scare a goddess if needed, "I would not cross those two lightly. Either one of them could cause me trouble should the situation be extreme enough."

Just who were these bots? "Care to share about them?"

Even more surprising, the goddess shook her helm. "No, we try not to bring them up if it can be helped. They seem to know when their designations are spoken, and I do not need all three of you in my home at once." I couldn't stop a pout from forming on my faceplate at that. Iussa must have noticed it because she let out a vent. "Given how long it has been since your interaction with Dawnbreaker, and since we have not received word of a summons so he can apologize to you, then the odds of them being called upon for this situation are high. You will most likely meet them. And if by chance you don't, I'm sure one of your guides will take you to meet them if you wish."

She had a point. So, for now, I would let this go.

And since I was staying here as a guest, it seemed right that we should enjoy ourselves. It wasn't every solar that I got to have a sleepover with a goddess. "So, do you have any good movies around here?"

Iussa looked startled at my change of subject before she smiled. "I think I have a few in storage that I could get projected. Why don't you prepare movie goodies while I see if Bealac and Accium can help me find the necessary equipment."

I realized I had forgotten about Iussa's guards until she said that. "Invite them and your other guards, too. The more the merrier in this case." The two of us stood up at that point before I started to walk toward the kitchen. She only used it when hosting organic gods and storing her special energon. "And send whoever you think can help me find your goodies to the kitchen to help me," I called to her as I walked out the door.

Walking down the hall, I reviewed everything Iussa and I just talked about. At least there was hope that I hadn't just wasted solars of my time. I wanted to believe that, too. But Lord Dawnbreaker's reaction to finding out about me shook me. It shook me more than I wanted to admit. The mech had spoken to me on such a level field before that information came out that I had honestly thought about telling him about it. Not everything about me, but I would tell him a little bit more about me.

But that thought had been demolished by what happened.

Hopefully, I was as wrong about this as much as everybot kept telling me I was wrong about Firebrand. We would wait and see.

Chapter Text

Caigal's 1st P.O.V.

I shook my head as I scrolled through the datapad before me. It had been a day since Pandimala's reveal as a newspark, and I found myself growing frustrated. Lord Dawnbreaker was wrong in this. Pandimala was not a sparkling. A sparkling wouldn't have been able to evade our hunts for her soliform for seven full solars. She wouldn't have had the mental capabilities to keep her disguise for that long. While having a species advance in their cognitive development so quickly was unheard of, humans seemed chaotic enough to let it be. The labac were one of the earliest maturing species before this information came out. Fifty stellars to fully develop one's mental capabilities seemed like such a short time. Yet, humans cut that time down by over half.

And it showed. Pandimala's ingenuity and how she conducted herself socially combined into a terrifying being. The known universe should be lucky that humans lived such short lifespans. Imagine one of their kind with the average lifespan of the universe. Five hundred-year-old humans seemed like they would be terrifying creatures.

Pandimala would be the closest being to show what that would be like. Cybertronians lived for millions of years; age-wise, she had barely scratched the surface of that time. She was going to be a force to be reckoned with. How this situation went would determine whether we were her allies or enemies then.

But, outside of the information we found about the mysterious 'Coordinator', there had been no other leads. Even that lead about the Coordinator lasted for that report. That meant that the Decepticons had been keeping this being out of their reports. Perhaps it was to keep their existence from the Autobots? One of the reasons our information about their war was so sparse was because of the counter-intelligence tactics both sides employed to keep their current operations and operatives safe.

Autobots…

"Lightbeam," The femme glanced over to me. "Can you have Saboal bring us anything he has on Autobot activities from these planets?" While Earth was looking to be like the most likely place Pandimala came from, we couldn't limit ourselves like that unless we were sure.

"Sure, but why Autobot information?" Lightbeam asked me back as she seemed to send the request.

I motioned to the report in front of me, which was a list of supplies the Decepticons had inventoried at one point. "If the Decepticons were not responsible for this, as Pandimala has stated, it could be that the Autobots did this to her and, due to the nature of what happened, she can't say anything."

"That would normally be possible, but Optimus Prime was on one of those planets. He has proven himself a bot of good character and wouldn't have allowed his Autobots there to partake in something like this," Lord Oryax said.

My father, at Lord Oryax's interruption, shook his head. "While I would have agreed with you before, Lord Oryax, the situation on Earth changed things. The Optimus Prime we knew of from past reports also wouldn't have let his Autobots break their ceasefire with the Decepticons for the peace talks. Yet look what happened." Father then motioned to me. "Caigal is right. If we haven't found anything in the Decepticon reports, then it might be time for us to see what the Autobots on the planet were doing at the time."

While I was the one who brought up the argument, it was still strange to think about the Autobots being the aggressors in this. Growing up, I had heard stories about the great Autobot leader who fought for peace against Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons. Some of the first lessons I had preparing me for a seat on my father's war council were derived from studying their war. Seeing the tactics used and how actions caused events that wouldn't have been put together in most cases was eye-opening.

Hells, old Gal-Arel used Decepticon tactics when training me back in primary boot camp. Whatever anyone said about the Decepticons, they couldn't deny the superior training regiments that they had in place. Recruits could leave their training in thirty days and hold their own on the battlefields. It was why father started to use older Decepticon training methods integrated with our own for our soldiers.

Of course, in staying that, the Autobot techniques couldn't be discredited. The fact that the Autobots, the less militaristic faction in their civil war, could hold their own against such a force was incredible. And unlike the Decepticons, who were known for coming from physical labor backgrounds, the Autobots were mainly recruited from the higher echelons of Cybertronian society, from what the history lessons told us. Throughout this war, those bots who were unused to fighting had to develop skills that the Decepticons already had.

Looking through this information now, I could see why Grinchain was as obsessed with this as he was. Between this and my friendship with Pandimala, I might end up here more often. It would make father happy. Well, as long as I was with someone. I was sure I could convince said prince, if his sire ever released him, to come with me to study this further.

Thinking back on my previous thoughts, I realized that, somehow, the two factions changed their ways of operating during the fighting on Earth. Well, in a sense, at least. From the reports that we had, along with the video of what happened during the peace talks, the Decepticons seemed to let go of the anger and violence that had been their driving force. In contrast, the Autobots seemed to spiral and lose hold of the tolerant and understanding ways everyone in the universe knew them to have.

As much as Lightbeam and the others felt like Earth was the last resort in our search, I was starting to think otherwise. As a wise scholar once said, to learn about the source of a problem, you needed to go to the most recent information. The most current information about the conflict on Earth was the video footage from the peace talks.

It took me a few moments to find the corresponding data file. As I started the recording, I noticed Saboal coming in with the information we asked for about the Autobot records on Earth. The others could look at that for now. As the recording started, I felt like I was watching it live again. Given our proximity to their space, Eternia was host to a couple of Decepticons at the time of the talks. When father heard of the peace talks, he invited those Decepticons to a popular bar in town to watch it.

The talks started as anyone would think they would. Both sides met at a secure location on the planet and greeted each other. Greetings, of course, were stiff at best. It was apparent from the recording that they were nervous. I then watched as the leaders started their talks. It was almost masterful how Megatron was able to guide the discussion, which was what he was doing.

Time seemed to fly by as I watched the peace talks that would eventually end in disaster for the Decepticons. Between different surprises and demands from both sides, it was amazing to see just how different their strategies were and which side had which strategy. The Autobots were trying to get as much out of the talks as possible while the Decepticons were trying to keep things balanced. The Autobots asked for control of the eventual government for the first million stellars, which the Decepticons countered by asking for equal representation on both sides for the same amount of time. From history files I had read before and lessons I had taken, the Decepticons would have been the side demanding total leadership.

And honestly, they had the command structure that would make taking leadership a benefit for Cybertron in the long run.

From that thought alone, I could see that the Decepticons wanted these peace talks to work. There had been a rumor that this was just a ploy by the Decepticons to have the leader of the Autobots in a vulnerable state, given the humans at the talks. However, it never came to that. Instead, the Decepticons were left vulnerable, and they paid for it.

It was jolting to rewatch the shifting mood during the talks. At one moment, they were sitting from a break, as they had done before, and getting ready to begin negotiations again. In the next, the Decepticon third-in-command bolted from his seat and began accessing the human terminal near them. I was sure I wasn't the only one who thought the Decepticons were springing whatever trap they had placed. When I watched that, the Decepticons at the bar were on the edge of their seats. I remember wondering if the two of them would run out of the bar as if they could arrive at the small planet to help with whatever was happening.

Even the Autobots at the talks suspected the Decepticons of foul play. That was until the Decepticons were confronted verbally about what they were doing.

"Megatron, what is this about?" The Prime's voice had held an indignation that spoke of betrayal. Despite rumors after the talks, looking back on this recording told me that Optimus Prime honestly thought Megatron was breaking the ceasefire.

"You have no right to speak as if I am the one who is breaking the ceasefire for these talks, Prime!" Hearing those words now shook me just as much as they did everyone in that bar. The anger and betrayal that the reserved leader of the Decepticons had in his words were some I never thought I would hear from him. He was the strong and ruthless leader of an army who was not held back by their emotions. They used logic and reason as strongly as they used their might. Even the two Decepticons with us, Strka and Lugnut, seemed shocked at what they saw.

Of course, after Megatron asked Soundwave for whatever security feed he was demanding, the third-in-command had successfully brought up…

No. I wasn't seeing what I thought I was.

"By Murav," This…this couldn't be real. But, as I stared at the footage before me, I couldn't find a reason to say otherwise. What I was seeing here…it explained so much about my friend. I couldn't believe it, but the evidence was right before my eyes…

"Caigal, what is it?" I heard my father's voice but couldn't find words to answer him. I couldn't even find the strength to move from the footage where I paused it, the blade passing through her chassis. "Caigal," My eyes stayed focused on the screen, trying to find anything that would argue against the truth that was becoming apparent. "What is it?" I flinched, though my eyes didn't leave the footage before me, as I heard father's voice from next to me. He must have risen to see what was stupefying me. "Why are you…" His next question tapered off as he saw what I was seeing. The truth behind Pandimala was as chaotic and impossible as it was.

"Emperor Thav, Caigal; what is it?" Lightbeam asked.

While I couldn't stop staring at the paused image before me, father thankfully could. "Lord Oryax, we need to get to Lord Dawnbreaker with this. Now." My body instinctively pulled against my father's effort to take the image from me. Maybe I felt like it wouldn't be real if I stopped staring at it. But I knew it was. So, after he gave an inquisitive tug on the datapad, I finally let it go.

"What did you find?" Lord Oryax asked as he stood from his spot.

Father clicked on the datapad for a moment before an image flicked on the central display that the table provided. Everyone in the room stared at the picture in shock, just like I had, before Ambassador Credax finally spoke. "How…how is she online?"

Lord Oryax moved over to sire at that. "Emperor Thav and I will go and find that out now. Once Pandimala realizes we know this, I feel like she will answer us as long as we are respectful. Despite whatever circumstances she went through to get here, I have learned that the femme is of sound processor."

"I agree," Father spoke as he joined Lord Oryax by the door. "The rest of you, remain here and see if you can find anything else. Now that we know that Pandimala was on Earth, that will help you find anything else on her. She needs all the support she can get, and having more information about her past will only allow us to help her further." He then glanced at Lord Oryax. "Let's go. If we hurry, we can join Seabreaker and his guests and confront Lord Dawnbreaker collectively." I noticed that father still had the datapa in his servo as he left the room.

Seabreaker's 1st P.O.V.

I didn't want to do this, but sire left me no choice. As I stood outside the doors to his throne room, I knew this would not be easy. But there was no other option. Lightbeam hadn't found anything yet, and Grinchain was locked up. So, I stood here waiting for sire to admit me into the room. I had called Pandimala on my way back to Tocania and asked her to meet with sire. She hesitated but agreed as long as she could bring Iussa. While that would seem extreme to anybot else, I knew Pandimala had her reason. She always did.

"Enter, Seabreaker,"

At sire's command, I pushed open the door and walked in. My guests were staying back for now. I would give sire one more chance to see reason before I loosed them on him. So, I walked in. Sire was sitting on his throne, carrier sitting next to him. However, carrier looked upset. I guess he hadn't been able to break through to sire. Standing before him was Pandimala, Iussa off to the left. I could feel the tension in the room. I guess Pandimala had tried to speak to sire. Given the stubborn look on his faceplate, however, it seemed to have been ineffective.

It looked like my guests would be making an appearance after all. "Sire," I started once I stood next to Pandimala. "What are your thoughts on Pandimala?" I wasn't going to dance around the subject. There was no time for that. Pandimala was my friend, and I needed to take action. Plus, as the second creation of the leader of Vestium Major, I needed to be strong in my convictions.

"Pandimala is a sparkling. I told your brother this, and he did not understand." He was speaking about her as if she wasn't in the room. "She could not possibly understand the weight of what was done to her. It takes thousands of stellars to develop that sort of cognitive center. Even among organics, the cognitive center achieves complete development at fifty stellars minimum. She was by no means prepared and willing for whatever was done to her."

"You're making a mistake, Dawnbreaker," Iussa spoke up. As she did, I glanced at Pandimala, and, outside of the anger I expected to see from her, I was surprised to see pain in her optics. What had happened to her?

While I felt angry at sire for his blindness concerning Panidmala, I needed to stay logical. If I allowed my anger at the mech to show, as Grinchain did, I would be in the same spot he was and unable to help him and Pandimala. "And I assume that nothing the three of us could say will change your processor?"

"My word on this is final, Seabreaker," Sire spoke firmly, though I could hear the uncertainty in his vocals.

I didn't want to resort to this, but he left me no choice. "Then you leave me no choice, sire," I spoke up. While he looked upset, I got on my comm. "You can come in. He won't listen to us." Pandimala was looking at me with a confused look. However, she would realize what was happening soon. So, I simply motioned for her to make a path between the door and my sire. She raised an optic ridge at me but did as I was asking. I, in turn, backed away from her to make more room for them.

Pedesteps filling the air caused all of us to glance toward the entryway. After a few nanos, I watched as sire's optics widened. The mech walking toward him was about sire's height and a seeker. His orange optics didn't leave sire's blue ones. My first guest looked like he was on a mission, which was to sire's detriment. "Duskmorrow," Sire's vocals sounded tight and nervous.

"You are in so much trouble right now, young mech," Grandsire interrupted sire sternly. "While I would like nothing better than to reprimand you right now, I lost the bet." Pandimala looked amused and confused about this whole situation. I was glad she was here to see sire get put in his place. He was my Lord, but he needed to remember that he was mortal, just like the rest of us.

"Dawnbreaker!"

I could almost see the color fade from sire as that voice filled the air. Grandsire stepped to the side as a sleeker grounder femme marched down the aisle. This femme was our last resort. Grandsire said he was going to try to speak to sire. However, he might have heard sire's attitude and decided to let grandcarrier at him.

Nobot messed with grandcarrier lightly.

"Carrier?" Sire's vocals were shaking as he asked that. I hadn't wanted to do this to sire, but he left me no choice.

"Don't you 'carrier' me, young mech!" She practically growled at the mech as she stopped by grandsire. "How dare you judge this femme based on a species she used to be that you know practically nothing about! And where is Grinchain? I heard you detained him, but that better not be true!"

Sire was in a panic as he reached up to his comm. "Scorchflint, let Grinchian out. Now! And send him to me immediately!"

"You did!" Grandcarrier was on a rampage. Her servos were twitching as if she was going to strangle sire. However, she paused as she glanced at carrier and smiled. "Seabreeze, how have you been? I'm sorry for the problems Dawnbreaker is causing you."

My grandcreators always liked carrier. From the stories we were told as younglings, they were thrilled when sire asked carrier to bond with him. Carrier smiled down at grandcarrier, though I could see he looked drained from this situation. "It's good to see you, Flarebell,"

Grandcarrier smiled at carrier for a nano more before she returned her gaze to sire, no longer smiling. "And you! Putting your bondmate through all this slag because of your lack of information is irresponsible! Did you try looking the information up for yourself? From what Seabreaker told us, the event that caused this dear to become a newspark was obviously traumatizing." Grandcarrier paused before turning to Pandimala, a soft look on her faceplate. "And how are you, dear? I know we haven't been introduced, but I wish to apologize for my creation's abhorrent behavior to you. My designation is Flarebell, and this is my bondmate, Duskmorrow." She then held up an energon goodie from her subspace. "Energon goodie?"

Pandimala stared at grandcarrier for a nano before she smiled a soft smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you, and I'll be alright. My designation is Pandimala, and yes, I would like one, please, thank you," She took the energon goodie from grandcarrier and, after she scanned the goodie, she popped it into her mouth with a smile on her faceplate.

"Look at her, Dawnbreaker!" And grandcarrier was back on sire. "She habitually scanned the goodie I gave her. She has obviously been through so much. But you didn't think twice about that. No, you thought it was a good idea to press the traumatized dearie here into giving you information because she was in a weakened state of processor. You're lucky I heard this information from Seabreaker, not the rumor mill. I would have had you pealed metal shaving by metal shaving until your energon was flowing like rivers." Yeesh, grandcarrier certainly knew how to put the fear of Unicron into a bot. "Apologize! And you better mean it! If you don't, I'm not afraid to put you over my knee!" That sire was taller than grandcarrier, and the fact that sire looked terrified at the prospect told me that grandcarrier could still do just what she promised.

Sire, on his part, straightened on his seat before he looked to Pandimala. "Pandimala…I was a fool to think of you as a sparkling. I did not take your trauma into account when I questioned you. On both faults, I truly am sorry," He bowed his helm toward her.

"I forgive you, Lord Dawnbreaker." Pandimala forgave sire. "Though it did hurt that you lost your trust in me after that simple revelation, I am glad you can see that you were wrong."

Before another word could be said, more pedesteps from behind caused us to turn to see who these new arrivals were. To my surprise, four bots were approaching us. Physis and Sandstorm made sense since I knew they had been trying to meet with sire during this. However, the two that surprised me were Lord Oryax and Emperor Thav. Last I knew, they were helping Lightbeam look up any information on Pandimala. They wouldn't be here unless…

They found something out about Pandimala's past.

"Physis, Sandstorm, Lord Oryax, Emperor Thav; what brings you here?" Grandcarrier asked our new arrivals.

The four of them glanced at her and grandsire before, to my surprise, Lord Oryax walked straight up to Pandimala, who seemed to flinch back at his abrupt movement. It was even more shocking to watch the leader embrace Pandimala in a hug and whisper something to her. Whatever he whispered caused a shocked look to come to Pandimala's faceplate, along with a tiny bit of fear. What the frag happened? "You know?" Pandimala's voice, while a whisper, was heard, given the silence that had come over the room.

"I'm not sure if we know everything," Emperor Thav spoke as they joined those of us in front of sire. "But we know where you were stationed…and why you didn't want us to know where that was."

At this point, Grinchain, who must have come here directly from the holding cells, walked into the room. "What happened?" He was staring at Pandimala, who looked scared and hurt. "Why is Pandimala upset?"

To my surprise, Pandimala shook her helm and spoke. "It's not their fault, Grinchain. I guess it's time to tell you why I flew by Vestium Major when I did." She then looked around and shrank into herself. This nervous side of Pandimala was a side I didn't like to see. She was our confident friend and ally; now, she looked anything but confident.

Lord Oryax helped guide the femme to sit, which also seemed like a good sign for the rest of us to sit. "At your pace, Pandimala. We know this is going to be difficult for you." Well, at least they knew. All I knew was that Pandimala was hurting, and I wanted to help her. Lord Oryax, who spoke, seemed concerned. Whatever the story was, it wouldn't be easy to hear.

"I want to start by saying that I can't prove everything I'm about to say, and what I'm going to say will sound fantastical on the edge of ridiculous. But, it will be the truth," Pandimala started, her vocals shaking. "First, I'd better get the biggest issue off the table. I'm not from this dimension."

"You are from another dimension?" Iussa asked Pandimala.

My Decepticon friend nodded. Glad to know that Iussa confirmed the existence of other dimensions. "The one I am from had this dimension on display as a made-up show. A show that I followed almost religiously. I knew so much about the Autobot/Decepticon war and the beings they made contact with during that war that I felt like I could be an expert. I didn't realize this dimension was real until I went for a job interview at a technology company. Cyber Tronic's Technologies. As I'm sure you can guess, the company was created as a front so a certain god could work without too much suspicion about what he truly was."

"Primus," I was glad Iussa was following Pandimala because this seemed unbelievable. Of course, Pandimala had said it would sound strange. And she was right.

"Primus," Pandimala confirmed before she hesitated. "Well, a portion of Primus, to be precise. Paul Riley Muskogee. After he interviewed me, Paul then told me what his real goal was. Or what he wanted me to think it was anyways."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked her.

When Pandimala looked at me, I saw pain in her optics. "I'll get to that later." She then shook her helm. "Paul transported me to this dimension using some of his power. However, through the intervention of another force, whom we will bring up later, I was diverted from where Paul wanted me to end up. As my human self, Lizzie Val, I was redirected to the Nemesis. My first solars on there weren't easy, and there were a few times I felt like I would be offlined. However, I was able to prove my worth to them, and after a mission to prove that worth, I became a full-fledged member of the Decepticons.

This time, it was Emperor Thav who jumped in. "You were called 'Coordinator', weren't you? When we were looking for your last deployment, we saw a file with that name regarding a mission to find relics."

A small smile appeared on Pandimala's faceplate at the mention of the designation. "Yeah, we used that name to make sure the Autobots didn't realize I wasn't a prisoner of the Decepticons to throw them off their game." Pandimala then frowned. "But, it was after that mission that everything changed."

Unknown 1st P.O.V.

Why were all of my plans failing? Each one should have caused Vestium Major to fall. I had everything in place. I knew just how to make each one of these pawns move. How to make them think they were better than what they were. But they were just tools. Tools that would let the ones who recruited me take control of the Galactic Alliance. They had everything they needed. They had a strategist who showed us step-by-step how to proceed with this takeover. We had bots on every planet we needed to cause problems.

Our plans started with the attack on Majipoor, leading to the theft of their energon. That built up tensions just like our strategist said it would. While that was happening, our other inside bots were to manipulate their 'allies' and get them suspicious of other Alliance members. That had gone smoothly. Wern and Vestium Major were on edge with each other and thought the other was trying to start trouble. We even got our contacts to reach out to outside sources to send more trouble to one of their planets.

Those amazingly stupid bots on Antilla took the chance to attack a Decepticon like they were onlined to do it. That fumble on the part of Vestium Major should have been the fragging catalyst that started the fall of the Galactic Alliance. It was perfect!

But no, that piece of slag Decepticon happened to be the peaceful type. Let Vestium Major brush the incident away as if it didn't happen! How stupid did that Decepticon have to be? Their idiocy was pushing back our plans by hundreds of stellars. Ever since the femme showed up on Vestium Major, all I heard from our contacts was that all the leaders were growing closer due to the femme's influence.

Even that barbarian King Poiman enjoyed the femme.

No, this had to fragging stop. Something needed to be done to get rid of the femme. While it was tempting to try and frame her for any chaos our agents could conduct, she had too many allies at this point. They would realize that some being was working against the femme. No, we needed to take her and any rulers we could on Vestium Major, out—offlined, chassis parts strewn across the fragging city. There were so many leaders on the planet in the first place because of the trouble Vestium Major was causing the femme. If she were to offline while a guest of their planet…

Yes, that might work. My superior would be glad to have this mission moving forward again. His recent excursion to Earth to destabilize the Decepticons had been uprooted before it could take hold. At least our agents among the Autobots had done their job, though there were some close calls, and it wasn't going quite as fast as we were hoping it would. However, they were in place and continually preparing Cybertron for the solar when our masters took over once more, with me ruling as a placeholder. At the same time, they would conquer the galaxies and beyond.

Glancing at my internal time, I frowned when I saw how late it was. I had a few more errands left to run, and I had one of the pawns I was trying to manipulate moving away from me. I needed to reassert my dominance over him before I lost him. He was far too valuable to let get away from my digits now. I had spent thousands of stellars molding him, and I wouldn't lose him without a fight.

If all else failed, his offlining alongside the femme would cause even more destruction to this fragging Alliance. Until they were gone, we wouldn't stop. We had generations of soldiers who fought for the upcoming stellars. I wouldn't let anything stand in our way.

Anything.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

It was terrifying and liberating to tell all of these beings my story. But they had earned it. They were my allies, and they were ready to fight for me. Since I had a portion of the god of Order as my enemy, they needed to know everything. "While I gained my spot as a full-fledged Decepticon, not everyone was happy for me. One of those in particular was Paul. For a while, we had been in contact with each other through my dreams, and he used his power to make the meetings possible. Our goal, or what he told me it was anyway, was to make peace between the Autobots and Decepticons while avoiding any more energon shed than was necessary. But he showed his true goal when we met after that mission. He didn't want peace. He wanted the Autobots to win and come out of our war the clear victors. No matter what it cost him."

"What do you mean by that, Pandimala?" Lord Dawnbreaker asked me. From his tone, he was sorry for what he had said before and was trying to make up for it by hearing me out. Thank the Allspark.

To his question, though, "When I met with him, he noticed that I had cut my hair and had a bandage on my neck. It was from a tattoo I got to show my allegiance to the Decepticons. Instead of asking me why I looked different, he immediately assumed the Decepticons were responsible. Instead of letting me explain what they were, he didn't believe me. He insisted that I was being blinded by my past support of the Decepticons back in my dimension and said that I was letting them use me as a ragdoll to practice their soliforms. And before you ask, we got the information we needed to improve our soliforms from the relic we got on that mission and had yet to implement that information. He was grasping at straws. Paul wanted whatever reason he could use to blame them."

"Sounds like I need to visit Cybertron to put a god in his place," I smiled as Flarebell, whom I was pleased to meet as Lord Dawnbreaker's carrier, grumbled. She was quickly becoming my newest friend.

"Given the Autobots' appreciation for him, that may not be smart right now," As much as I would love to see Paul get the same treatment that I just watched Lord Dawnbreaker get, the Autobots would be much more defensive of Paul than receptive of her words. "I appreciate the thought, though."

"Yes, and you let me know when I can follow through on that action," Flarebell reiterated with a smile.

"Thanks," I did appreciate the thought behind it. "Anyways, more words were said, and I officially cut ties with Paul after that, though he didn't believe me. After some time with the Decepticons, we come to the first answer that you all are looking for." I then motioned to my chassis. "How I was turned into Pandimala. It wasn't on purpose, on both the side of my attacker and on the side of those who were trying to save me. I had been collecting a relic using an armor the Decepticons made specifically for me to use in the field. A ground bridge opened behind me as I freed the relic, and the bot from the other side shot at me. Given later investigations led by Soundwave and Lord Megatron, it was determined that none of the Decepticons, even those who were not my biggest fans, were responsible. That shot infused my body with energon, slowly eating me from the inside."

"How did the Decepticons save you?" Physis asked. I was sure he wanted to know what medical breakthrough the Decepticons might have made to save me from the energon.

However, with everything that I was involved with, it wasn't that simple. "That's where things get complicated. Before my enemies made their moves, all the Decepticons had been able to do was stop the spread of energon by cycling the infected blood out of my body, filtering out the energon, and then putting the clean blood back into my body. But that just stopped further progression. As I mentioned, I had enemies, and two of those at the time were in the Decepticon fold. Airachnid and Astrotrain. Airachnid, somehow, found the one substance built to fight energon and thought adding it into my blood would finally do me in. This act caused her to be removed from the Decepticons. However, while damage to my body increased in spots where the two substances met, Knockout told me later that the areas where the clashes weren't happening were recovering."

It didn't surprise me that Sandstorm was the one who noticed my gloss-over of the 'substance'. "And what did Airachnid put in your body to cause this?"

I hesitated for a nano, knowing the taboo behind dark energon, before I said it. "Dark energon,"

The room seemed to freeze at my admission. "Dark energon was on Earth?" Iussa spoke up.

Since I was giving them all of my history, they had better know this, too. "Is. Earth isn't your average planet. Just as Cybertron is Primus' chassis, Earth was formed around the defeated chassis of Unicron. His essence can be found all over the planet, and as beings created on the planet, it can be found in the structural DNA of humans in small quantities. We believe it is that fact that eventually caused what happened."

The room seemed to need a nano to process everything I told them. However, after a few clicks, Seabreeze spoke. "Continue when you are ready, Pandimala. We'll listen."

While they were simple words, I felt relief when he said that. "Thank you," I thought he should know I was grateful before I continued. "As Knockout sent his assistant to get more fluids to keep me stable, my second enemy among the Decepticons chose that moment to attack. Astrotrain, however, was more direct than Airachnid. He ensured that Knockout could not interfere before he started to move to me. But, at that point, the energon and dark energon in my body reacted in a final force that caused an explosion. When everything cleared, I was like this."

"So there is no way to stop energon poisoning?" Physis asked.

I shook my helm. "Not yet. Astrotrain fled the scene when backup arrived, and after that, he was removed from the Decepticons. While we had to adjust to my new species, the Decepticons moved forward while keeping an optic on my condition. Things were looking up until a group of Autobots and Decepticons arrived on Earth. One Decepticon, in particular, was the cause of more trouble for me. You may know him. Thrust."

"Scum," I was surprised to hear Lord Dawnbreaker speak up at the mention of his designation. "He made a ploy here during the beginning of the Cybertronian Civil War to replace me with a puppet leader. It didn't work, but the mech got very close."

It sounded like the scum I knew. "He tried the same with Lord Megatron, and he tried to use me to do it."

"Your first snap," Sandstorm put the puzzle pieces together.

I nodded. "Yes, though I didn't realize what it was then. But his effort did get him a small victory. As I was coming out of the induced stasis the others had to force me into; I started to ramble about Primus and the mission he gave me. At that same time, Lord Megatron walked into my room to check on me. He demanded an immediate cortical psychic patch to determine my loyalty to him. I didn't want Thrust to see the information in my helm, and I asked Lord Megatron that he not be shown anything from my processor unless my Lord thought I over-reacted after my viewing. In return, I offered not to fight any punishment that should come my way, even if that was torture. Lord Megatron agreed and led me to a room where Knockout had two berths ready. Lord Megatron entered my processor as the other officers outside Thrust examined my memories."

"I'm assuming Thrust didn't leave quietly," Lord Oryax said. "I was here during the mech's attempt on Vestium Major, and he left quite the mess behind for Lord Dawnbreaker to clean up."

So, the mech was a menace everywhere. "While the patch was happening, Thrust realized he was going to be made, so he reached out to a contact he had in the Autobots. We think he gave them a one-time access pass through the Nemesis's defenses. Not long after my patch, I was put into forced recharge to recover from the strain. In that time, though, the Autobots used that pass to attack the Nemesis."

"Why would the Autobots risk an attack?" Grinchain asked. He was devouring every word I was saying. Of course, this had to be a treasure trove of information for him—a first-servo account of what changed on Earth.

"Because they thought that someone on the Nemesis needed saving," I answered the mech.

"You," Iussa pointed out.

I nodded. "Me. Since we were using my unknown status among the Decepticons to keep the Autobots on edge, they believed I was a hostage and saw this as the best opportunity to save me. Pitch, Flamewar, and Sentinel Major stumbled upon the room I was in, and after they offlined the guards, they took me prisoner. To this solar, I'm not sure why they didn't just offline me, given their want to after they got me to the Autobot base, but I'm not complaining."

"This is where your wings popped," Emperor Thav interrupted this time.

Well, he was close. But it wasn't quite yet. "Not yet, though we aren't far from that. I wasn't the most cooperative prisoner at first, and many Autobots made it known that they didn't like my presence with them, Paul included. However, there were a few Autobots who got to know me. Wheeljack was the first one, and I saw him as a friend. However, after a bad mission, the three Autobots who brought me to their base came to my cell as Wheeljack told me he had gotten permission for one of their medics to look at my backplates since they were bothering me."

"One of the main signs that wings are about to pop," Seabreaker pointed out. "That and enhanced awareness are early signs that wings will pop soon."

"Given the lack of fliers among the Autobots, they didn't know that," I interjected, more to defend Wheeljack and my other allies in the Autobots instead of the Autobots as a whole. "They threatened to torture me to see if I knew anything about the Decepticon goals, which I wouldn't have told them. Wheeljack caught on and tried to deter them by saying they would go against intergalactic law and turn the Galactic Alliance against the Autobots before they could hide."

"And they would have," Duskmorrow stepped in. "As soon as word reached us that the Autobots had employed torture on a bot they had taken as prisoner, the Alliance would have been on them. On both sides of your war, many instances almost invoked Alliance involvement. However, the circumstances around those incidents were not involving actual prisoners. They were either battlefield fights that went too far or, in the case of the DJD," I had a feeling the Galactic Alliance was watching them given the methods they tended to use, "They were tracking bots on their side who betrayed them. Dealing with bots in their ranks differs from using those same tactics against enemies who didn't swear to those same ideals."

That made sense. I hadn't thought about it before, but it was strange that the Galactic Alliance never intervened in the cases where the DJD tortured traitors. "That makes sense." I agreed. However, it was time to tell them what happened when my wings popped. "In response to that, Sentinel Major attacked Wheeljack while saying it wouldn't happen if the only witness against them lost his spark as I tried to make a violent escape."

"They were going to offline you, and the Autobot Wheeljack protected you," Sandstorm summed up.

I nodded. "Yeah. I was scared for Wheeljack and panicked while trying to get them away from him. I broke out of my cell and attacked them. I wanted to protect Wheeljack. So, I threw Sentinel into the other two with enough force to cause them to tumble into the main room. Of course, the other Autobots didn't know what was happening and just saw a Decepticon prisoner escaping and attacking their own. When I walked into their view, it happened…my wings popped."

"The first emotions you would have felt would have been from the Autobots, who saw you as an enemy," Physis supplied for me. It wasn't easy to talk about this, but given everything that happened during my time here, they needed to know this now.

So, I continued. "Yeah. One threw something into my side to get me away from their allies. My sensors couldn't comprehend everything, and I was trapped in my emotions and the emotions of every being in the room." I had to pause for a nano as I felt myself panicking again. "Thankfully, Wheeljack woke up while the Autobots tried to figure out what to do with me. He took everything I accidentally told him during our talks and figured out that I used to be Lizzie Val, the human they had been trying to 'save' since I was seen on the Nemsis not long after my arrival in this dimension."

"That situation could have gone very differently. The Autobots were lucky that he could bring you back to your senses." Lord Dawnbreaker shook his helm. "It sounds like they were closer to breaking intergalactic law more times than we thought."

"That, and more times," I agreed. "After that incident, my stay with the Autobots improved, though I wouldn't say it got to be good. But I was somewhat trusted, and after a while, I convinced Wheeljack to help us get the Autobots ready for peace. I had made it my goal to see the war end and, given the work I did with the Autobots while I was their captive, Lord Megatron made it the mission of the Decepticons, in general, to work toward peace."

"So you were the reason things changed on Earth," Grinchain suddenly said with a smile on his faceplate. "It's why you acted so strange when I brought it up during our first guide session. You told me you just knew some bots that were there."

"And I did," I pointed out to the mech.

He laughed at that. "That's tricky, Pandimala, but I get it now. This wouldn't have been easy to talk about with me back then."

"It isn't easy to talk about now," I pointed out to the mech. The next point we had to discuss was what Lord Oryax and Emperor Thav already knew, as did whoever else was researching with them. "Different issues came up after that, which led to me being attacked by those three, this time successfully. They had some help from Paul, though I don't think it was intentional that time from the god."

"Why would Primus help those three wastes?" Iussa asked. Hopefully, she saw why I was against Primus when we first met.

"Like I said," I started to reiterate. "It wasn't intentional from him this time." I saw the question I was expecting start to form on the goddess' lips, so I shook my helm. "I'll get to that later. For now, this wasn't his goal. His actual reason for doing this made me even angrier at him. To protect the information about my past and who he was, he blocked my memories, which would stop them from being reviewed by patches. Past, present, and future."

"That's why you were hesitant about giving your memories during the incident with Grinchain," Seabreaker pointed out.

Nodding, I motioned to my helm. "Yes, and if it weren't for a friend I already made, though I didn't realize what he was, I wouldn't have been able to do that. He'll come up in a little bit, though." Yeah, Michael was a whole other issue. "Anyways, when those three attacked me, they tried to force me through a patch. However, Paul's block inadvertently stopped them. Of course, it also caused feedback, which caused me to go processor offline for over a solar. When the Autobots discovered my chassis the solar after the incident, they thought I went processor offline from what the Decepticons did while I was in their possession. Of course, I had told them before that the Decepticons didn't cause my transformation, but they wouldn't believe me." I gave a pointed look at Lord Dawnbreaker at that.

He, in turn, held up his servos. "I already apologized for that!" It didn't help that his carrier glared at him when I said that, too.

So, I smiled. "I know, and I'm glad you saw reason. The Autobots weren't quite that smart. They took it a step further. Optimus decided the best course of action at this point was to hide what he thought was my offlining chassis on one of the coldest and isolate parts of the planet so the Decepticons couldn't find my offline chassis before he went to go tell Megatron that it was his fault that I offlined."

There were a few facepalms at that. Emperor Thav's was the worst. "By Murav, if I ever do something that thoughtless, I am to be deposed immediately. Why didn't he investigate what happened first?"

I shook my helm. "I honestly don't know for sure. I think he was in denial that his Autobots could do that to their prisoner. Of course, the peace talks took that hope away from him." Thankfully, they didn't ask me to elaborate on that since I was pretty sure almost all of them had seen the footage of the attack, though only Emperor Thav and Lord Oryax knew how connected that was to me right now. "However, a third enemy operating on Earth captured both leaders during their fight. Given that their leader disappeared when going to confront mine, most of the Autobots jumped to the conclusion that we had Optimus as our prisoner. Before the other Decepticons could investigate who took our leader since come to find out later, we investigated the scene better than they did; the Autobots found a way back on the Nemesis and captured two symbiots."

Since they knew Soundwave was on Earth, it didn't take long for them to connect the dots. "The Autobots captured Soundwave's symbiots? Did they have an offlining wish?" Grinchain asked. "That's one mech I never want to cross."

"They were desperate for their leader and were sure the Decepticons had him. I was found by Decepticon scouts who were sent to Earth millions of stellars before but lost contact with the Decepticons. They nursed me back to health and helped me reach the lake, where both sides met to discuss the twins' return. The two scouts went ahead of me since I had other business to take care of at their old ship, and I am grateful they did. The Autobots edged the line of breaking intergalactic law again with the stunt they pulled." I couldn't help but growl at the end of that. We were too close to losing Rumble and Frenzy during that.

My growl caused Sandstorm to ask me the question. "What did they do?"

"Not all of the Autobots were in on this, obviously, but they didn't keep track of what their allies did to the restraints the prisoners were on. The Autobots thought to help encourage the Decepticons to give their leader back; they would strap dud explosives to the twins and keep them on a nearby lake to force them to give Optimus Prime back to them. But the Decepticons didn't have him. And, at least one of the Autobots decided that duds weren't enough. Thankfully, the scouts I met rescued the twins right before the explosives went off. I finally arrived on the scene a little after that excitement, and thanks to the time I spent with the Autobots, I got them to stand down and realize that we didn't have Optimus. I think the shock of seeing me online surprised them into agreeing more than my words did. But it worked regardless. With that distraction out of the way and the twins safe, we could focus on finding Lord Megatron and, by extension, Optimus Prime."

"So, who was the enemy that had them? Did Thrust join up with Astrotrain and Airachnid?" Grinchain asked.

Shaking my helm, I answered him. "No, it was an enemy that made both factions their enemy on Earth. A human organization known as MECH had clashed with both sides before, and we Decepticons had a task force made within our ranks specifically to watch their movements. However, they had gone dark a few solars before Lord Megatron and Optimus were taken, so we didn't have concrete evidence against them until we had some time to do some more digging. I was sent in since my chassis design and my being a femme would interest the terrorists. They captured me as we planned, and once I was in their base, I was able to rescue both Lord Megatron and Optimus. Lord Megatron and I made our plans for peace known to him at this point. I also let Optimus know the trouble his faction was causing in his absence to get him away from the terrorist base. Lord Megatron and I took revenge on them for the pain they caused us."

"Logical, given the circumstances," Flarebell agreed, but she looked confused. "Pandimala, you mentioned that a force caused you to be diverted from Paul's original destination for you. But you haven't mentioned what that force was."

A smile spread on my faceplate at that. "You're right. That's because it wasn't until after the events that I described that the force made themselves known. It turns out that Primus isn't the only pinnacle god that can have autonomous and self-sustaining subforms created by himself. It turns out that a friend I made when I was still human and kept in contact with after that turned out to be a subform of Unicron. He revealed what he was after we recovered from the incident with the terrorists and made a compelling argument as to why he did."

"And what did the god of Chaos say?" Iussa asked with a hesitant tone in her voice.

I shook my helm at her nervousness. "When he admitted to being the one to interfere with my transport here, Shockwave asked him why he did so. Unicron then proceeded to explain his reasoning. He pointed out that none of us found it odd or surprising that Paul had pulled me from my dimension, one of his children since humans were made on his chassis, without asking him. Or even telling him. He pointed out that we saw Paul as the savior of the universe for interfering with Unicron's children on his world. Then, he pointed out that if it were the other way around, if he had pulled a Cybertronian or a human from another dimension to solve either planet's problems, he would been seen as the bad bot. After that, he pointed out that chaos was not synonymous with evil. It was then that I realized that he seemed to be Paul's balance. He truly wanted to save everything. He even told us this. And I knew he was telling me the truth. After the meeting, he put a block on Paul's memory block in my processor so any memory from that nano onward could be seen."

"What is his name? I'm assuming he has one since Paul is Primus' detachment." Iussa asked me.

While this topic was serious, I smiled at the femme with a knowing look. "What fun would that be if I ruined it? If you all ever meet him, he would be mad at me if I didn't let him have some fun in making you all guess." I then realized it was time to get to the part of the story that started this retelling. "Past that, the Decepticons prepared for peace while we heard from our allies in the Autobots that they were trying to do the same. Optimus seemed to be cracking down on bots stepping out of line more, and eventually, the time came. The Autobots called, and after some debating, we set up a time and place for the meeting."

"Where were you during the meeting?" I felt my spark twinge when Grinchain asked that. I was honestly surprised and relieved that he hadn't connected the dots yet to my identity.

"In a click," I avoided answering his question right away. "It was decided that while Shockwave, Soundwave, and Lord Megatron went to the talks, most Decepticons would stay on one of our holdings on Earth. However, that left two ships that we needed to man." I shook my helm. "We reformatted the Harbinger to read as the Nemesis and placed it in space where the Autobots could track it, though they did not have access to it. Or, they shouldn't have anyway. Plus, we had to have the actual Nemesis have guards on it. Skyquake and Predaking, one of the scouts that saved me, were to be on the Nemesis, given they would have links to bots on the farm without using conventional comms. Predaking's bondmate was the other scout that helped me, and of course, Skyquake had his twin bond with his brother."

"And the femme on the ship?" Lord Oryax and Emperor Thav winced when Lord Dawnbreaker asked about that.

"There was a tracking chip that Soundwave could monitor remotely to ensure nothing was wrong." This was harder than any other part of the story I told. "Remember when I said Paul didn't mean to help those three the time with the patch?" Every being in the room nodded at that. "He meant to this time. We think he was spiraling and desperately found whatever ally would help him stop the peace talks. He wasn't in control of the negotiations, and they went against his envisioned order. So, he used his powers to help them get onto the ship without our scanners picking them up. Worse yet, we are sure he manipulated the chip Soundwave was monitoring so the readings wouldn't change despite the danger."

"Pandimala, you didn't answer Grinchain's question. Where were you?" While Seabreeze asked his question gently, I still winced at it. It was still fresh in my processor, and it wasn't easy to focus enough to say what I wanted.

"I've got this, Pandimala," I glanced at Emperor Thav as he pulled out a datapad. That must be the recording of the talks. More importantly, it would show them where I was. As a projection came from the datapad, I realized that this would be the first time I saw even a part of what happened at the actual talks while…while I was being attacked.

The room went silent as the projection started, with Optimus demanding to know why the Decepticons were breaking the ceasefire. My spark felt a pull of yearning for my Lord when I heard the pain in his vocals as he rebuked Optimus since it was his Autobots breaking the ceasefire. Every being in the universe saw my Lord's pain as I was being attacked. The room's temperature felt as if it dropped when the recording showed the final moments of the attack. They knew. I had to shut my optics as the recording of Pitch stabbed me. My servo drifted over my chest plate as I felt a ghosting of the pain that I felt at that nano.

"Pandimala…you…I'm sorry," Grinchain stuttered out. I could see that the mech was shaking from where he sat. I knew how difficult it was to watch this. I had lived it. "How are you still online?"

There was the next hard question. And, unlike the previous one, no one in this room outside of Iussa could answer this. While it would be easier for me to let Iussa answer it, I knew it would be better if I did. "Remember when I told you that Earth formed around Unicron's defeated chassis?" They all nodded. "I offlined that solar. I offlined, and my chassis fell to the planet. It fell into the deepest part of the ocean the ship was flying over, and I sank to the depths. Down there, I was close enough to Unicron's source where he was able to take over my chassis and use me as his puppet."

"I'm sorry for how our first meeting went, Pandimala," Iussa apologized again. Given that she tried to control me, I saw why she was apologizing now.

"I already forgave you for that, Iussa," I responded to the goddess. "When he took over my chassis, his antispark interacted with the dark energon and energon that had inhabited my lines and reanimated me. With that reanimation, however, I also regained myself. But, I was trapped as Unicron attacked Cybertron through me. Given my memories, this was a situation the Decepticons knew might happen, so my Lord was on Cybertron to help free me from Unicron's control. At the same time, the Decepticons on Pyrovar were able, with the help of our piece of Unicron, our ally, to siphon dark energon from Unicron's influence during the fight to recover me. However, Unicron planned his attack for a reason. During the fight, Optimus Prime and those who traveled with him returned to Cybertron with the Allspark. My Lord, realizing that Unicron had access to my memories, took the Allspark into himself to prevent Unicron from taking it."

"How did you defeat Unicron if he knew what would happen?" Iussa asked. Outside of Grinchain, she seemed the most invested in this story. Of course, that made sense, given her connection to Unicron and Primus.

"My Lord ordered me to, so I knew I couldn't fail," I answered honestly. "Since I arrived here, gods had used me, and I was done. I had already been fighting against Paul, and Unicron was no different. So, I used my strength and fought his hold on my chassis. However, I knew it was going to offline me since Unicron's dark energon was keeping me online. I forced control of my chassis away from Unicron long enough to open the empty vessel and force his antispark from me to there. However, fate decided to allow me to stay online. My Lord returned the Allspark to the core, with a promise from the Allspark to return him to Pyrovar, given it was not his time to offline, and my Lord ordered me to return to him."

The room was quiet for a few nanos before Flarebell spoke up. "But how did that lead you to Vestium Major space?"

"And more importantly," Physis jumped in, as I figured he would by now, "Why the frag didn't I detect any dark energon in your scans?"

I motioned to Physis first. "Honestly, Physis, I don't know. To start with your question, at the same time, Flarebell, I ended up having to stop on Antilla to refuel and rest. They seemed rather nice and even had a medic who looked me over. This was my first check-up since leaving Cybertron, and I worried they would detect the dark energon. But they didn't. I don't know why it doesn't appear on scans, but I think it has been helping me recover here." I then shook my helm. "Anyways, the bots on Antilla warned me that a bad solar storm popped up on the direct route to Pyrovar and pointed me onto this route."

To my surprise, Lord Oryax shook his helm. "Pandimala, there haven't been any solar storms this side of Cybertron in a stellar."

My faceplate deadpanned when he said that. Great. I got tricked into coming this way by those Autobots. Frag them. "They probably thought that with the trouble you all have been having, throwing me into the mix would make things even worse."

"And they were almost right," Seabreaker agreed. "When you came up on our radar, our patrol was on high alert with the trouble we have been having. While I know it isn't an excuse for what happened, it was a stress factor contributing to me overlooking the general comm line as communication."

I noticed that Grinchain was staring at me with a strange look on his faceplate. "What is it, Grin?"

"How did your chassis take the hits from the defense system? I was talking to my trainer about it, and she mentioned that they were meant to take out large battleships, yet you were fine…relatively speaking."

Relatively speaking, my aft. But I got his point. "When Unicron took over my chassis, he upgraded it. I can take a lot of damage now, as you all saw first servo." I then shook my helm. "And that's the story that got me here." The room was uncomfortably silent after that, making me nervous. Why the frag wasn't anybot saying anything?

I flinched as Lord Dawnbreaker stood and walked down toward me. I noticed that everybot was tensed as the leader approached me. Given that this whole meeting started because he jumped to conclusions, I was nervous about what he would say now that he knew the entire story. Well, almost all of it. There were a few personal details that they did not need to know—namely, my courting status with Lord Megatron.

My optics stayed on Lord Dawnbreaker as he stopped where I was still sitting. He stared down at me for a few nanos before he moved. Now, my optics widened as the leader knelt before me. What the frag was going on? "Pandimala, I can't say it enough, but I am sorry for what I said before. I didn't know your history, and that didn't give me the right to judge you based on what I assumed to be the correct answer. You are among the strongest and most competent beings I have ever met. Thank you for having patience with me, though I haven't deserved any of it."

I stared at the leader in shock for a few nanos before I shook my helm. "I already forgave you, Lord Dawnbreaker. Now, please stand up. Your kneeling is making me nervous." It didn't feel right to be knelt toward. In my processor, I shouldn't be knelt to. The only kneeling that should be done near me was my kneeling to Lord Megatron once I returned to him.

Thankfully, the mech stood back up, which prompted the rest of us to stand from where we were sitting. The room stayed silent for a nano before Iussa stepped forward. "So, not that this isn't a great learning experience for every being here," She then looked at me. "But, are you still staying at my place? Because I'm pretty sure Calral, Bajuit, and Halew will go crazy if they spend another cycle avoiding your prank traps."

I smiled widely at that. "Yeah, I've got everything I need in my subspace," I then let my smile form into a smirk. "That doesn't mean I didn't leave them parting pranks with love."

Iussa's faceplate fell before she let out a vent. "I better get back before they find them," The goddess didn't wait for a farewell before she walked out. Of course, she had a lot to think about. Her views on the pinnacle gods just got a major overhaul with my story.

But, the future needed to be looked at as well. Problems here on Vestium Major still needed to be addressed, and something told me those troubles were on the horizon.

Firebrand's 1st P.O.V.

I shook my helm as I sat by the lake. While I missed my time in the skies, it had given me time to think. Even though I hated the mess I was in, I knew it was my fault. I knew that even when I told the femme it was nothing. I just didn't want to admit it. Plus, with encouragement from Sharpstreak, I felt even more in the right. I felt like she would force her way into our lives and try to control us.

But it never came. How she spoke when she delved out our punishments made me think she would hound me until I fell under her sway. Decepticons were known to be forceful with their plans if a bot got in the way. I wasn't going to be bullied by the femme. And I thought Sharpstreak was helping me. Things started to change, though, when the femme did precisely the opposite. She hadn't tried to talk to me since that solar we got our punishments. Was there plenty going on with her? Of course. I wasn't a moron. However, until the incident at the Eternia Embassy, I thought she was just trying to get attention.

And then she took the challenge. The first solar she was there, I thought it was luck. She knew a few tricks to stay under the radar, but that wouldn't last her much longer. But, then, the second solar passed. And still, the labac were nowhere near finding out where her soliform was. After that, the third solar came, and even when that rogue psiar attacked her, they hadn't found out about her. The only reason we knew she was even attacked was that, at the start of what would have been her eighth solar, she turned herself over to stop Emperor Thav's previous war council, outside of Caigal, from staging a coup. At that point, I was starting to see the femme as more than just some Decepticon scum that was here to cause problems.

It was the incident with Sharpstreak, however, that caused me to sit here right now. I had heard she snapped from some other bots. No surprise there, or so I had thought. She was a triple changer with the pride most triple changers had when they snapped. But then I talked to Valar and Lopel about what happened. They were there, and what they told me caused me to think about some things.

Namely, my friendship with Sharpstreak.

It seemed extreme to jump to that end, but what he did was also extreme. It was one thing to mess with a bot. Trying to get a bot to snap on purpose was another thing entirely. That was especially a bot with a violent snap as Pandimala had. I had heard the rumors. She had to have special training away from everybot else because she lost all conscious thought when she used to snap. By the time Sharpstreak messed with her, she had already trained her snaps to the point where, while she still couldn't remember what happened, she could stop herself from trying to offline bots.

But Sharpstreak pushed her. He was honestly lucky that the femme didn't offline him. Her entire time here, and the only time I had heard of Pandimala acting anywhere near the rumors said Decepticons acted was when Sharpstreak pushed her to. Was she confident? Yes. Given the stories about how she was training, I would expect that. But was she flaunting it and making others feel worse about being weaker than she was? No. Not by a long shot. She even got Grinchain, the data nerd he was, to get back into regular training.

"Firebrand, I thought I would find you out here," I held back a growl as I turned to see Sharpstreak walking up to me. Now that I looked at him, many of the signs I had been looking for in Pandimala were easy to see in Sharpstreak. He was overconfident when he didn't have a reason to be, acting like he was the highest power in the universe and making others feel less when they couldn't do everything that he could. "You look like you have half of your processor rotting away," He commented as he stopped. I guess he noticed that I wasn't exactly happy to see him.

"More like it is finally starting to work after rotting for so long," I shot back at him.

The mech had the gall to let out an annoyed vent. "Are your thrusters still in a bunch about that thing with the Decepticon? She's a rotten Decepticon that needed to be brought down a peg. I just did what nobot else was willing to do."

"No," I shook my helm. "What you did was cause problems where there wasn't any to begin with. I see that now." I then looked at him nervously. "What did you want from me?"

His optics narrowed at me. "I wanted to see if you heard about the Decepticon's newest stunt. She made a fuss during Wern's presentation, and your sire finally did something about it. Now, she's hiding out with your goddess. But I guess you didn't need to know that."

Instead of feeling guilty, I narrowed my optics right back at him. While something must have happened during the presentation, something told me that there was more to it, and either he didn't know, or he was purposefully misleading me. I was done with him. If there was anything that could have been salvaged from our friendship, it disappeared with that. Now that I was suspicious of him, I could see his toxic behavior for what it was…and how it affected me as my sire's heir.

I would have to give one long apology to sire after this.

"I think I'll do my own investigation about what happened," I shot back at him.

That didn't go over well with Sharpstreak at all. "What? My information not good enough for you anymore, Firebrand?"

"No, it isn't." I was honest with the mech.

"You're letting that weak and malleable family of yours manipulate you as that Decepticon has them," He growled back at me.

"I have barely seen my family since Pandimala arrived," I shot back at him. "And outside of arguing with them, I haven't said more than hi to them. Frag, I haven't even seen or heard from the femme since she gave out the punishments for Seabreaker and myself." I then pointedly took a step toward him. "The only bot who has been manipulating me is you, Sharpstreak. I'm done."

"What do you mean you're done?" He hissed at me.

I started to walk away from him as I answered him. "I do not know you anymore. Don't look for welcome as a friend from me. Pova and Vestium Major are allies, but you and me, we are finished."

Chapter Text

Seabreaker's 1st P.O.V.

"That was mean."

I resisted the urge to roll my optics as sire pouted as we walked. The mech, while regretful for his actions against Pandimala, still wasn't happy that I had called grandsire and grandcarrier in to have some leverage on him. Honestly, it was his own fragging fault. Instead of trying to reason with Pandimala, or at the very least let her recuperate from the incident with her wings, he had dove into interrogating her. He was fortunate that Pandimala was a forgiving femme and that she seemed to have her own goals, or we could have sparked the very incident that we were trying to avoid with the blunder that Firebrand and I caused.

Seriously, the femme had to be a goddess with how much patience she was having with us.

"It was necessary," I responded to sire as we moved through the streets. The previous solar the Fair had ended, and all the vendors had readily worked on tearing down their displays. Another Fair gone by, and all things considered, it turned out better than it might have.

Of course, there were some close calls.

"I don't know; a coup might have been preferable," Right, like grandsire and grandcarrier wouldn't have ripped sire and the upstart a new one if there had been a coup. "Both of my creators are staying at the castle until Pandimala is ready to go home. So, make sure that you are on your best behavior."

That last part was news to me. "Why are they staying?" Grandsire and grandcarrier hated spending time at the palace. They had done their time, according to grandsire, and they would be in the way if they were around. The fact that they were staying now had me curious.

Sire let out a vent at that. "Flarebell has taken a liking to Pandimala and feels like the femme needs some more support given the events the other solar."

It had been three solars since Pandimala's…well, the only way I could think to describe it was that it was her information dump. And while I still felt like it was hard to believe, Iussa's reactions and my own trust in the Decepticon told me that everything she told us was the truth. Everything.

Thinking about Primus, the pinnacle god of Order, as anything other than good was a hard truth to accept. But I saw the evidence. With everything we had known about the peace talks before, plus Pandimala's retelling from her view, we had more than enough evidence to show that at least a portion of the god, in the form of the man Pandimala said was called Paul Riley Muskogee, was in the wrong. Honestly, I was still sorting through the information from that solar. Pandimala went through so much in such a short time. Most bots might experience that much in their entire existence, let alone in less than a stellar.

And that wasn't even including her experiences on Vestium Major. Frag, she probably met with more planetary leaders than most bots in their entire existence. The femme was at the Antiga Prime embassy, attending a celebration King Poiman invited her to. That being was not easy to impress, and the fact that Pandimala was receiving invitations to smaller events like this meant he took a shine to her.

Speaking about the leaders, though, "Sire, do you know why the planetary leaders are still here? Most of them don't keep away from their planets for long, yet they are still here."

A vent escaping from sire told me that this was stressing him out. "Given the presence of so many leaders here, I invited them or, if they are not present, their ambassadors to a banquet that I will be holding in seven solars. The invitations were sent out this morning, and I have already been hearing back from those already on world."

That made sense. This whole situation with Pandimala had already become an unofficial planetary gathering, and sire putting on this banquet would help talks happen that needed to happen. That was mainly in the case of Wern, who I hadn't heard anything about since the presentation fiasco. "And Wern?"

To my surprise, sire shook his helm. "They've been invited. However, their embassy said the message was delayed in transit, and they aren't sure if it will reach Wern in time for Lord Keadal to receive the message."

That wasn't good. While Lord Halstarn of Majipoor, the leader of the planet that Ethos was in trouble with, was here, it would not look good if we didn't have a high-ranking official from Wern there. If the message didn't get to Wern, it would look like we only invited Majipoor because they were present. "And did Lord Halstarn accept the invitation?"

Sire nodded. "He was among the first to respond outside Eternia, Ethos, and Antiga Prime. I want to take that as a hopeful sign, but without hearing from Wern, I can't be sure." He then shook his helm. "This could be the best chance to settle this business peacefully. I can only hope that we have an answer soon." He then looked at me. "Enough about that, though. How has the information compilation been going?" Since we started pulling information on the Autobot-Decepticon conflict on Earth, sire figured it would be a good idea to have a file solely on the subject.

Given our current interactions with Pandimala, that was a good idea.

"Grinchain is loving it," I laughed. "He's been cables deep trying to make sure we have everything we have copied into one file. From what he told me, the four of them should have the information compiled in about five solars, depending on how often Pandimala can come down and add in what she can." The team consisted of Grinchain, Caigal, a data clerk called Derns, and Perfican. The four of them were picked through volunteering. Caigal's inclusion surprised me until she told me that helping with the research before got her interested in the war.

"Good," Sire said before he paused.

He must be getting a private message. After a few clicks, though, he looked worried. What was going on? Hopefully, it wasn't something else with Pandimala. Seriously, she had gone through enough. "Sire?" I tried to get his attention to see what was going on.

"Come with me." Sire abruptly stated before he turned and walked toward the shipyards. "I've already sent a message to Firebrand to meet us there. I just received word from the communications network. They just received a request to land from The Autonor."

My optics widened as the ship's name was said—the Autonor. Wern's flagship used to transport the royal family of Wern. They were here without warning. Their embassy, if they were to be believed, didn't even know they were coming, yet they had arrived. Whatever was about to happen, we needed to ensure that this meeting with Lord Keadal and whoever else he brought went flawlessly. The future of our planet depended on it.

Iussa's 1st P.O.V.

My existence could not get any worse. I thought dealing with Pandimala was bad enough. Now, however, my troubles were only going to get worse. Couldn't an order-centric goddess have just one relaxing solar without constantly dealing with chaos? I mean, some of the pranks that Pandimala had set up while she was staying with me were still inactive somewhere, waiting for the poor bot who would end up walking into it. And that didn't even include the trouble that seemed to find the femme all on its own.

Of course, when you made an enemy of a portion of Primus, as she had, she was bound to have bad luck.

And that bad luck seemed to be rubbing off of me.

"My goddess," I glanced at Bealac as she, Quips, and I walked toward the shipyards. "Are you sure meeting them in the open is a good idea?"

Interesting. Before I met with Pandimala, none of my guards would have questioned my actions. Strangely enough, I liked them keeping me in check when needed. However, they didn't have to worry. "It will be fine. Electel and I have been on friendly terms for millions of stellars. The odds of her trying anything or allowing anything to happen to me are slim. However, should the chaos-centric goddess try anything, I'm sure I could deal with her…and if not, I'm sure Pandimala would enjoy the opportunity to do so more than I would."

Quips nodded. "That's true. Pandimala seems to have made ignoring social norms an art form. Given what I've read of the goddess, Pandimala would surprise her more than she might expect, even as a chaos-centric goddess."

"What do you mean, Quips?" I asked the femme as we continued to walk.

Quips motioned to me. "Pandimala, given her experiences, would expect trouble from an order-centric goddess such as yourself. And you expected trouble from her when she was late to your meeting. You were ready for it and still got caught by surprise. With Electel being a chaos-centric goddess, she wouldn't have nearly the apprehension around Pandimala or expect the chaos we all know she possesses."

That was a good point. Cybertronians were known to run in an order-centric style. Even their outliers weren't far from order. Pandimala's status as a newspark who originated from a highly chaos-centric species would blow all perceptions of her out of the water. However, there was one unfortunate piece in all of this. "Unfortunately, Pandimala will not be at this meeting. She is spending time with Lord Poiman at a celebration he invited her to. From what I have been told, she plans to stay there for a few more cycles before she returns for a meeting. Firebrand requested a private meeting between himself and the femme with his sire and carrier present."

It had been immensely satisfying to see the surprised look on Pandimala's faceplate when she was told of the heir's want of a meeting with her. Given her lack of contact with the young mech, I understood that. However, Firebrand was a stubborn mech, much like his sire, and needed time to accept that he was wrong.

"Pity," Bealac surprisingly put in. Despite all of my guards becoming more relaxed around Pandimala, Bealac was still a little upset about how Pandimala interacted with me during our first meeting. "I hoped to see Electel's reaction to Pandimala telling her to get a life."

I had to take a quick intake to keep myself from laughing at the thought. And Pandimala would, too. Electel was too curious for her own good at times, which usually involved getting into bots' business that she did not need to know.

Silence fell between us as we arrived at the landing site. The Autonor had already landed, and the royal family and their guards, along with myself and my guards, were now waiting for the platform to lower. I glanced toward Dawnbreaker and his family, and when I caught his optic, I nodded toward him. He, in turn, seemed to ease a little before he nodded back to me. I would support him despite what trouble may or may not come from the ship.

The air around us grew tense as the airlock released, followed by the gangplank lowering toward the ground. Immediately, the royal guard bots of Wern walked out and stood at attention, awaiting the Lord and Prince to step down from the ship. And the goddess that was accompanying them. Fragging femme, why was she here now?

Pedesteps drew my attention to the gangplank. My optics widened in surprise when, instead of Lord Keadal walking down first, as he should have, his creation, Bloodfall, stepped down, followed in attendance by Electel. The goddess, who was just shorter than I was, studied the area in front of her before she glanced toward me. Her orange optics seemed to dance as she held my gaze. I felt annoyed at the helmaches that were bound to be in my future. What did I do to deserve this?

On second thought, I didn't want to know.

Movement from Dawnbreaker's family had me glancing toward them to see Firebrand and Seabreaker glancing at each other. It was obvious from how they were standing that Seabreaker had nudged his brother. After a few nanos of glancing, Firebrand nodded and seemed to be sending a private message. When Dawnbreaker suddenly moved forward, I realized that he must have been the one to whom Firebrand was sending the message.

"Lord Bloodfall, welcome to Vestium Major," Lord? From the surprised look on Electel's faceplate, Dawnbreaker was correct, but she wasn't expecting the information to be known. "I hope your journey went well?"

The young Lord looked at Dawnbreaker in surprise for a nano before he straightened and took Dawnbreaker's offered servo. "It was quite peaceful compared to recent events on Wern. How did you deduce that I was now Lord of Wern?"

Dawnbreaker, to my surprise, motioned back to Seabreaker. "My second oldest, Seabreaker, was the one who noticed and informed my heir, Firebrand, who informed me." At their sire's mention of them, both Seabreaker and Firebrand moved to stand next to their sire.

I was reveling in the surprised looks that Electel and Bloodfall were sharing. Ha! Take that, Electel. "Interesting. Then how did you deduce my new rank, Seabreaker?"

"Firstly, your guard looked too tense when you started walking out. Secondly, your sire would have been the first to walk out if he were still Lord of Wern, and the fact that he isn't here told me that you must have taken the throne from him." He then motioned to Electel. "Most importantly, Electel is following right behind you. If a god or goddess is following behind a bot like that, almost always, it will mean that the bot in question is the planet's leader." He then held up another digit. "Plus, it would explain why your embassy was having trouble hailing you with sire's invitation to a banquet that Vestium Major is holding in seven solars."

Bloodfall smiled at that. "You have grown a lot since I was last here, Seabreaker." He then glanced toward the rest of the family. "All of you seem to have."

And now it seemed like I should join this group. "A recent phenomenon," I spoke up as I joined them. "Certain influences have been most beneficial for Dawnbreaker and his allies." As in, Pandimala was almost like an infection that spread positive reactions.

"Iussa! Why, I almost didn't recognize you!" I frowned and glanced at Electel as she said that.

"Electel," I started. "It hasn't nearly been long enough."

That caused a laugh to come from the goddess. "Oh, don't be like that. The advertisement sticker was a thing of the past. Surely, you have matured enough to let that go."

My optic ridge twitched at the reminder of the incident. I wasn't able to live that down for stellars. Given the events of the past solars, I had finally forgotten about it, and I was ready to move on from it.

Now? Now, it was going to be cemented in my memory for stellars. In that nano, I hoped she fragged around and found out with Pandimala. Nothing would make my existence better than seeing Electel, one of the closest gods to the Pinnacle gods in terms of power, face Pandimala.

"I was going to until you brought it up again," I growled at the femme. "Now, why did your aft decide to crawl away from home?"

Her faceplate went from confused to curious before she smiled. "Why, Iussa, is this a spinal strut you've finally grown into?"

I rolled my optics at her antics. "More like I've grown used to dealing with chaos-influenced beings."

Electel raised an optic ridge at me. "Really? How exactly have you learned this?"

"A recent phenomenon," I lightly glared at Seabreaker as he responded to Electel while smirking. "Certain influences have been most beneficial for Iussa. At least, that's what Grinchain would say about it." Little brat. Using my own words against me.

Of course, Electel was loving every nano of this. "Oh! I have to know what this influence is." A pointed sound from Bloodfall seemed to remind Electel that we were in the middle of an official welcome. "Of course, I'll dig into your helm and find out about it later, Iussa."

Great. Well, Electel would need to be warned. Despite the comments my guards made earlier, I did not want Electel to face the same greeting with Pandimala that I did. Electel and Pandimala were imbued with high levels of chaos energy, and who knew what would happen if those forces clashed?

"If Lord Bloodfall agrees, I think we have gotten the important parts moved through," Dawnbreaker spoke up.

The young Lord nodded. "Yes, you have welcomed us warmly to your planet."

With that affirmation, Dawnbreaker motioned to the palace. "Please, once you are settled at your embassy, come meet with me. There is much we need to discuss."

Bloodfall turned to Dawnbreaker before he nodded. "Of course. Shall we say in two cycles time?"

"That will work just fine. I shall see you then, Lord Bloodfall."

At that, both parties left, leaving myself, Electel, and my guards. "Shall we go to my temple?" I asked the goddess. While she usually stayed with me, it was proper to ask.

"Of course! I couldn't pass up a sleepover with my favorite order goddess!" She then looped her arm in mine before dragging me along. Thankfully, the walk back to my temple went quietly and without incident. Past times the goddess had visited, she tended to wander off and cause whatever mayhem she could create. However, this time, she seemed focused. Seeing her this focused had me concerned.

Once inside, I dismissed my guards and led Electel to my chambers, which she would share with me. I helped her situate the items she brought before motioning her to sit on the spare berth. Once she did, I knew it was wiser to start this conversation now, or she might spring it on me when I least expected her to…and more likely than not around others that I did not need to hear this. "You look like you have questions. Go ahead and ask."

Electel seemed to relax at my go-ahead. "Okay, I have to ask: Just what is this mysterious influence that was mentioned? Don't think I didn't notice how you tensed up when the young prince used your words against you." Her smile almost looked predatory. "Just who did you earn the wrath of?"

I let out a huff at how direct she was being. It must be a chaos-influenced thing. Pandimala acted the same way. "I see you are just as direct as you want to be," I said before I shook my helm. "A recent arrival to Vestium Major that Lord Dawnbreaker is hosting as his guest is direct in her way of talking. If she feels something is wrong, she will say it. And before you ask," I cut off the interruption Electel seemed to want to make, "Yes, she did so to me,"

My admission caused Electel to double over in laughter. "This must be the being I want to meet." Wait, she was here to meet with Pandimala? "I sensed a great motion of chaos and change here and knew I had to be present. It is the reason for my visit despite the trouble that Wern just went through. You must introduce me, Iussa. It's vital for the future that I meet with this being."

"You'll have to wait," I informed the goddess. "Her schedule is fairly full for this solar as well as the next solar, from what I understand. I'll see if I can't arrange a meeting between us and whoever she wishes to bring the solar after next."

"We are going to wait? Why not just summon her here?" Electel asked. "We are goddesses, after all, and few would be brash enough to reject a summon."

While I was tempted to let Electel try, just to see her reaction to being lectured by Pandimala, I knew that might also get me in trouble with said femme. So, I shook my helm. "She would. And she will have no qualms in telling you that to your faceplate when you meet with her."

"You tried to force a meeting, didn't you?"

I frowned at the singsong way that Electel said that. "Not quite. I demanded her presence at an appointed time, and while she did arrive, it was not at the time I wanted. However, I was prepared to let that go. Then, the way she spoke and acted surprised me, and if I am being honest, it angered me as well. Certain things were said which, with the information I know now, she had every right to say. I didn't know that when I first met with her." I was ashamed of what I did back then. It was careless and sparkling-esque behavior. Certainly not the behavior one would see from a goddess.

"I must meet this femme," Electel said with a wide smile. "She has to be the one I want to speak to." She then stood and smiled. "Until then, I think I'll go and get some high-grade to sip on. Care for anything?"

No, I had my energon before I went to see Electel, and I was in no mood for high grade. "No thanks. We can discuss this coup that went down on Wern when you return." I wondered why she would let the previous prince take over from his sire at this time. While I could learn what I wanted from Dawnbreaker, Electel was more likely to give me intimate details about what was happening. As a goddess, being informed about political movements across the galaxies was nice. They were vital to how we would operate our existences.

A scream coming from Electel caused me to bolt off of my berth and run to the source. However, it didn't take me long to come across a scene that caused me to laugh. I still hadn't found all of the pranks that Pandimala had left behind from her stay with me. It seemed like Electel had found one. My guards would be relieved. Many had become paranoid while they walked about due to the promised pranks.

My guards, who had arrived before I did, were chuckling among themselves as I moved toward the trapped goddess. The sticky black thread had dropped from the ceiling and had trapped the goddess in an inescapable net. Add in the purple and pink glitter, and Electel was truly trapped. I was saving this memory in my files for all eternity. I had never heard of Electel getting pranked before, and being able to witness this was a treasure I would hold onto.

"Iussa, did you do this?" Electel finally asked as I started to help her get out of the threads.

Shaking my helm, I allowed myself to let out a laugh. "No, that would be the femme you are here to see. She left a few pranks behind after her stay with me, and I still haven't found all of them. I'm glad that you were able to help me with this."

The goddess stared at me in amazement for a nano before she let out a laugh. "Oh, if I don't meet this femme, it will be a travesty to known reality."

Honestly, Electel and Pandimala would enjoy each other's company. Quite a bit if this was how Electel reacted to the femme's prank. However, I would enjoy my peace while the two remained separated.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"So, the meeting with Firebrand went well?" Physis asked me as we went through my nightly medical checkup.

I had just come from the meeting with the young mech, and honestly, I was surprised. A lot more surprised than I thought I would be. Firebrand truly was like his sire. At the start of the meeting, the heir had given me a full apology for his actions over the past solars since my arrival here. He admitted that he knew that he had made a mistake, and a big one at that. However, he had let his pride get ahead of his responsibilities.

Seeing how sorry the mech truly was, I had forgiven him and offered him the chance to start joining in on my guide rotations. He was more than willing. Firebrand admitted that, when he thought about it, learning what I had to teach would be a lesson he would be foolish to ignore as the heir of Vestium Major. So, he would meet me next solar and show me the different places he enjoyed. Of course, he would also join me for my meeting with Lord Bloodfall later in the solar.

"Much better than I was hoping for," I answered Physis out loud as the medic continued my scans. "I guess everybot else was right about him. His presence around Sharpstreak was hiding the kind of mech he truly is. Is the mech stubborn? Yes. However, we can work with that. And that will be one less ally for Sharpstreak. I'm unsure what that triple-changer's problem is, but he needs to figure it out."

"Have you thought about meeting with his sire?" Physis moved to upload my scans as he spoke. "Lord Dometti is a no-nonsense sort of mech, and hearing about the trouble his heir is causing may help."

"Or it could hurt," I argued back. "From what I can tell, Sharpstreak is keeping himself in check because he is not yet Lord of Pova. I heard that after his sire found out about what he did to me, he threatened to take the heirship of Pova away from him. Sharpstreak is going to be watching himself more after that. If I push Lord Dometti to take that stressor away from his heir, Sharpstreak would become more of a problem than he is right now."

Physis let off a noise of agreement at that. "I didn't think about it like that. I can only imagine what that mech would get up to." A sound came from the monitor, so Physis moved to copy the data it showed. After a few clicks, the mech walked back over to me. "Alright, scans are looking good. I would think you were in perfect condition if I didn't know better. Keep up recovering like this, and you could be fully operational within thirty solars."

While I knew that he was saying that to try and encourage me, I felt anything but. Thirty more solars of having my wings and t-cog on lockdown seemed like an eternity. "No sooner?" I asked, even though I knew what he was going to answer. I just needed to hope.

And, like I thought, that hope wouldn't last long. "Be lucky I am giving you that soon. For any other bot, I would be telling them half a stellar at best. But I've worked on you long enough to know your recovery rate. Thirty solars should be about right. That is, of course," I felt nervous at the pointed look he sent me. "As long as somebot can keep out of trouble for at least twenty of those thirty solars."

Yeesh, tell me how you really think, doc. Of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to cause a little mischief. "Do those solars have to be consecutive?" Immediately, I flinched at the helm-slap that followed that perfectly innocent question. "It was just a joke, doc!" I yelped as I dodged another helmslap from the medic. Yeah, something told me he didn't appreciate the joke.

"With you, that is anything but a joke." He huffed. "Even more so with the approaching banquet that Dawnbreaker is hosting. That banquet will have a lot of political atmosphere, and you aren't exactly cautious with your words."

"No, but I know how to use them, Physis," I immediately interrupted. "Just because I speak my processor doesn't mean I don't know when to keep my vocals shut. Please remember that I had to stay online in very trying circumstances. Should I have said the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong being, I might not be here this solar."

Memories flooded my processor of all the times I had to watch my words. At first, it was when I just arrived on the Nemesis and needed to earn my place. Even after that, I had to watch what I said due to the timeline and the mess that followed. After that came out, I still didn't get a reprieve since I was forced into Autobot custody. I had to ensure they didn't find out about anything I didn't want them to.

And then, there was the mess here. I had tried to keep everything to myself. I thought that they didn't need to know. There had been nothing that could have forced me to tell them. And then, it did. I had been thrown back in my memories to that solar I popped my wings, and I had put Lord Dawnbreaker in a very awkward position because of it. That situation was part of why I decided to come clean with them. Well, mostly, come clean with them. Besides that point, I had decided to divulge most of my past with them. Given how close we were and how much I was affecting their way of life, I realized they needed to know the truth…and the dangers. One solar, Paul would renew his efforts in coming after Lord Megatron and me. I knew that. It would take stellars, given the state of Cybertron. However, it would arrive. And when that solar came, we would need as many allies as possible.

I came out of my thoughts when Physis stood in front of me. "I know, Pandimala. From your past and how you've interacted with others here on Vestium Major, I can tell you have a natural way of speaking with royalty and other ruling titles. That is despite how blunt you tend to be when you talk. Just…make sure you are careful. Forces are moving to cause problems, and you seem to be in the middle of it."

He was talking about the hidden enemy trying to cause problems for the Alliance. I had heard from Caigal about the psiar that caused me to fall at the training falls and how he was hired to cause issues for Eternia and Vestium Major's allies. Then, there was my obvious placement here on Vestium Major. The Autobots on Antilla made sure I didn't take the direct way to Pyrovar with their lie. While they may have been trying to keep me from returning to my Lord for as long as possible, this felt like too much of a coincidence.

And then there was the issue between Ethos and Majipoor. From what I had seen, Ethos wouldn't have attacked Majipoor like they were being framed as doing. From what Lord Bloodfall told Lord Dawnbreaker, as Seabreaker told me, that attack was set up by his sire, the previous Lord Keadal, and the Quintessons to destabilize the agreements between Vestium Major and Wern, thus making it easier for the Quintessons to come in and claim leadership over both major powers. Unfortunately, Lord Bloodfall's documentation was not official, so neither leader could go after the squids for this blatant attack.

However, we were all wary of them for now.

Who knew how far their reach stretched? If they could convince a ruling Lord to start handing over his territory, they could have convinced any number of beings to work for them. From what I read, if the Quintessons weren't so necessary for Alliance trade, then I was sure there would be a reckoning. If the rumors I heard about Pyrovar were true, my Lord could be the ally the other Alliance members needed to finally make the Quintessons' inclusion in the Alliance unnecessary.

However, something still didn't feel right about that. This felt bigger than the squids. As crazy as that sounded, it was my main thought. Yes, they were organizing this. That much was evident to all of us. Regardless of that, to me, they didn't seem to be in charge. This plot was crossing too many borders that the Quintessons couldn't access. From my studying, their mannerisms wouldn't have given them an in with the psiar, nor would they have been able to convince the Autobots to help them. As much as the Autobots hated Decepticons, they hated the Squids even more. I was sure that even Paul would readily accept an alliance with Lord Megatron if the Quintessons attacked Cybertron. Or if they made any move against Cybertron at that.

No, this was bigger. I'd have to think more about this while I was here, and as long as events didn't come too much to a head, I would wait until I met with Lord Megatron again to talk to him about this development. The Decepticons needed to be prepared for this. I had a feeling that my involvement here would eventually bring the Decepticons into this struggle, and I couldn't allow the Decepticons to be caught unaware.

"I'll be careful, Physis," I promised the mech as he started to put away his equipment. "Am I good to go?"

The medic let out a vent before he nodded. "Yeah, you're good. Just make sure to take it easy. I'd like to stop seeing you regularly for trouble."

I let out a laugh as I stood up. "I'll try Physis. I'll see you later." I then stood before leaving the med bay.

Once the door shut behind me, I let out a vent. This wasn't my specialty. Politics. Most of what I had been through here had to be chalked up to dumb luck. I couldn't make deals and didn't know the first things about the more delicate inter and intrapersonal relationships between different planets. I was sure I had Eternia and Ethos down pat, along with Vestium Major. But outside of them, I was winging it.

Even my interactions with King Poiman were extremely lucky. The humanoid shark being had been intimidating to me at first. Given sharks on Earth, it was a reasonable reaction. And then the whole kneeling crap came up, and I immediately treated him like any regular being I would argue with on the street. Hell, I thought I crossed a line there. But, somehow, we ended up being friends. I just went to the birthday party for one of his nephews, and I was surprised to get an invite. But I knew better than to say no. So, I went.

And I had a good time.

Despite all this good luck, however, I knew it would come to a head. As I walked to my room, I thought back on the conversation I just had with Physis. He was right. If anything were going to happen, it would happen at the banquet. And I was one of the easiest targets to get to. While I was a guest of Vestium Major, I wasn't as guarded as the royalty would be, or any typical diplomatic guest might be, as I think I would technically be referred as. And if something happened to me while I was here, given the circumstances, the consequences would be severe.

And then, there was the last worry that I currently had. The feeling of chaos that I felt earlier. Grinchain had messaged me a couple of cycles ago and told me that Wern was not only here, but their goddess had also come with them. Electel, a goddess heavily influenced by chaos energies, was here, and from what Grin had said, she wanted to meet me. She had to sense the dark energon. There would be no other reason for her arrival here at this time. The thought of meeting with another goddess was anxiety-inducing. My first meeting with Iussa didn't go too well, though we were friends now, and I didn't want a repeat performance with this goddess.

As I arrived at my room, I shook my helm. It would do me no good to worry myself over it. I just needed to keep moving forward. If I did that, I would return to my Lord. I would return, and then I could finally be home. Until then, I would have to survive. Survive the goddess, banquet, and any other plot that may come up against me.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

Well, better now than never. While I was nervous about this meeting with Wern's goddess, I knew it had to be done. From the information the others gave me, we were both heavily influenced by chaos, which meant that if we didn't meet amicably, we would meet chaotically. And given recent events and my most recent worries, that would be the worst thing to happen. However, this wasn't going to be a simple meet and greet. From the information I found out, not only was Electel a chaos-centric goddess, but she was the deity closest in power to Unicron. However, that was in comparison to other branch gods and goddesses.

At least, that's what the datapads said.

I was going into this meeting practically blind, and funnily enough, the bot who was going to be coming with me already had experience with me interacting with gods on a defensive level. "I think I'm cursed," Grinchain muttered as we walked out of the palace toward Iussa's temple. "The first time was pure luck. Only two of us were on the rotation, and I had even odds of going with you. But, now that 'Brand is in the guide rotation, my odds should have been considerably less. Yet here I am, walking off with you into another existence-changing meeting."

"Oh, come on, it isn't going to be that bad," I teased. "We will only have one goddess, at most, who may want to offline us when we are done with this." I grinned widely at the end of that. Hopefully, he could see that I was teasing him.

He let out a laugh at that. "Yeah, because I'm sure you've got Iussa scared enough of you that she wouldn't even think about it anymore."

Eh, fair point.

"While that may be the case, it will help us regardless," I agreed with the mech. "Given everything that has happened and has not, then this meeting might be crucial, and I'd rather have a goddess on my side than against me."

His faceplate grew a confused look at that. "What do you mean about things not happening? Isn't things not happening a good thing? I mean, it seems like when anything does happen, you are right in the middle of it."

He was right, but he didn't see the bigger picture. Yes, things had been happening, but we could deal with those situations. When events were allowed to build, it only brought trouble. And despite all of the trouble that had happened, nothing huge had happened. Given how I arrived here, there should have been some political trouble. Some anger toward Vestium Major. Yet, there hadn't been much—whispers and warnings from the psiar captured after the attack against my soliform. Since then, it has only been simple issues that have arisen.

"When events don't happen when they should, that can mean a bigger problem later," I explained to Grinchain. "While I have been glad for the peaceful setting that we have been in, it shouldn't be the case. I was shot out of the sky, though I know it was a mistake, and that should have caused a political storm that caused one of Vestium Major's enemies to take advantage of the situation. But, there was nothing. The only hint we have of anything happening in response was the attack against my soliform, and that wasn't even directly connected to me at first."

At my explanation, Grinchain seemed to catch on. "Right. The psiar thought you were a random human he was attacking. Whoever is causing trouble seems to be preparing to strike." The mech then thought for a couple more nanos. "And the best time to attack would be during the banquet. All those planetary leaders and representatives in one place will be the perfect center for an attack."

"Exactly," I agreed with his assessment. "If anything goes too badly with this meeting, then that might start the chain of events that will culminate in whatever attack our shared enemy has planned."

The conversation went silent as we approached the doors to Iussa's temple. As expected, her two guards were waiting outside for us. Unlike my first visit here, however, they looked more relaxed. Strange. I didn't think that they would be feeling like this so soon. Oh well. Hopefully, this was a sign that the meeting would go by smoothly…

…Well, as smoothly as possible with two chaos-influenced beings in the same room.

"You know femme," Scabar, the tank mech on guard duty during my first visit, spoke up. "I never thought I would see a positive in your presence here," He then laughed. "But watching Electel and the guard she brought with her acting all paranoid because of your pranks has been a gift from Iussa that I never even knew I needed. Nartea is always going on about how she is unshakeable in her duty to Electel. Now, the femme can't turn a corner without jumping out of her plating."

I felt the tiniest twinge of concern when he said that. Frag it; I figured that they would have already set off most of the pranks before this. Guess the bots usually here at the temple were faster learners than I thought. Hopefully, Electel could take a well-meaning prank. Otherwise, I already started on the wrong pede with the goddess.

The other guard, Kulan, glanced at me before laughing as well. "And I never thought I would see the solar where you would look nervous about something you did."

And at that, I let out an annoyed vent. "If they can't handle a joke, I'll be fine. I'm not that worried." I wasn't. I didn't want to start this meeting badly, and I may have already goofed that up.

There was nothing I could do about that now.

I focused as we walked up to the entrance doors to Iussa's receiving area. This was it. Time to meet yet another goddess. A goddess of chaos. Pushing down the last of my nerves, I pushed open the door and led Grinchain inside. I took in the situation as soon as the room came into view. The usual guards were stationed on the walkway, and a new femme, who must be the one called Nartea, was placed at the top of the right side. From the nervous look in her optics, I could tell she was not thrilled about something. If I had to make a guess, it was about her goddess being out and so exposed to a stranger.

And speaking of said goddess, I glanced up at the dais and saw the two goddesses sitting there waiting. Surprisingly enough, Iussa looked nervous. I thought we had already gotten past that part of our friendship. Unless she did something stupid. If she did something stupid, then we were going to have words.

Next to her was the goddess Electel. Just shorter than the other goddess, Electel had silver plating with yellow and gold highlights. Her faceplate was a medium gray, and she had stunning orange optics. Not a color I saw often enough, though I saw it more than my own color. Thankfully, I wasn't getting a bad vibe from the goddess. That was already a good mark in my processor.

"We might as well get introductions out of the way," Iussa started. She then motioned to me. "Electel, Nartea; this is Pandimala," She gestured to Grinchain. "And this is Prince Grinchain. Grinchain, Pandimala;" Iussa then motioned to the guard that I didn't know. "This is Nartea," She gestured to the goddess beside her. "And this is Electel."

"She looks so adorable!" My optic ridges about flew off my faceplate when Electel suddenly said that before she started to step down. Say what now? Before I could react, the goddess picked me up and pulled me into a giant hug. "Oh, I am going to keep her and take her home with me."

Oh, pit no! "No, you aren't. Now, put my aft down and treat me like a living sentient being before I make you."

A shiver traveled down my spinal strut as I locked optics with the goddess. I could feel a twinge of the power of chaos looming inside of her as she studied me. "Oh really? And how are you planning on doing that?" The challenge could be heard in her vocals. Prove it. That was basically what she was saying.

Well, I was much more healed than during my meeting with Iussa. I shouldn't have to pull on that power, but brute strength might be enough. Despite what was happening, I still didn't feel any malice. Instead, I felt like she was testing me. For what, I wasn't sure.

A nano after her challenge, I did the best thing I could. My helm wouldn't be able to get the momentum to do any damage along with my legs. Not to mention the hug I was still in pinned my arms. However, I still had many of my organic habits, which meant I would use whatever I needed to escape a situation. And, with a glance, I saw that she had me close enough to do one thing about this situation.

So, I bit her shoulder.

A yelp came from the goddess as she reflexively dropped me. Once my pedes hit the ground, I rolled backward to put myself further away from the femme before I brought out one of my swords. "That's how," I retorted to the goddess.

The room seemed to pause at my response to the femme. Her guard looked on edge, though confused about what to do. Iussa looked like she was enjoying every nano click of this, though I had to guess it was because she wasn't the one experiencing it. Iussa's guards looked to be in the same state she was in, and Grinchain looked nervous and bored simultaneously. Slag, I might have desensitized the poor mech to deities. Well, at least he wouldn't be walked over by them.

"You bit me!" Electel exclaimed in surprise as she stared at the mark on her shoulder. She then glanced up at Iussa. "She bit me!"

"Believe it or not, my bark is much worse," I teased the goddess. Again, I couldn't sense any malice or ill will from her.

My words caused Electel to turn back and stare at me with wide optics. In those optics, I could see excitement as well as amazement. Yes, this meeting was going much better than my first meeting with Iussa. "Your bark is…" Electel got out before she fell on her aft, laughing uncontrollably. "Oh, you are perfect!" She finally got out before she stood back up. "I sensed your presence here and had to ensure you were the one I wanted to see. Now I see that you are that being. Only a being inundated with chaos would dare bite a goddess and immediately joke about it to their faceplate."

I raised an optic ridge at that in turn. "I was joking? I don't remember doing that."

Electel held up her servos. "Fair enough. If I tried that again, you would certainly not hesitate to do so." She then looked directly at me. "I sense a strong presence of the Destroyer in your chassis." She could feel the dark energon. "Tell me, if you wouldn't mind, how that came to be."

Well, she could already sense the substance. However, before I would speak, I needed a promise. "Only if you promise that what I say stays between us here. My experiences have been unusual at best, and I find it necessary to tell beings myself in my own time." That was primarily due to the taboo surrounding dark energon, as there should be. I wasn't given a choice in my connection to it, so I had to live with it. However, it was not something others should be messing around with.

Electel nodded. "Very well, I promise for myself and on behalf of Nartea that what you speak to us, this solar will not leave those present."

Perfect. So, with her promise, I delved into my connection with dark energon. I started with the little I had in me at birth, though I hadn't known about it at the time. Then I spoke about Michael using it to help me during the bar incident, though I didn't speak his name to her. After that, I went on to talk about it being injected into my blood by Airachnid. Finally, I told her how Unicron used it to reanimate and take control of my chassis when I offlined. When I spoke of how I fought against him, the goddess looked intently interested in what I was saying.

Once I finished speaking, silence fell between us for a few nanos. "You," Electel started, a stunned look on her faceplate. "You defeated the god of Chaos."

"It wasn't easy," I got out as I fought off the memory of that event. "But I had my orders, and I always follow my Lord's orders." I felt a shiver travel through my lines. Perhaps it was Electel's presence here, where before I had felt minimal chaos influence from those species who followed chaos-centric gods, but it almost felt like it was moving through me.

"You know that chaos isn't evil, right?" I glanced up and saw that the goddess was standing in front of me.

Given everything I had been through since I was brought here by Paul, I knew that quite well. "I do. I know it better than any being should." I let out a vent before I continued speaking. "Chaos isn't evil, and order isn't good. It's a hard lesson to learn." Saying that out loud created an empty feeling in my lines. Paul's betrayal still hit hard even after all of this time.

A warm feeling filled my lines before I felt a servo set down on my helm. Glancing up, I saw the chaos goddess had embraced me in another hug. Unlike the first one, this one was hesitant. Tender. It was as if the goddess wasn't sure what she was doing, but acting on the instinct that I've noticed comes naturally to chaos-influenced beings more than order-influenced ones. So, despite my more reserved side, I leaned into her hug. It was comforting.

I blamed my recovery on all of these fragging emotions getting the better of me.

"I spoke out of turn." My optics widened at the goddess' admission. "My apologies, Pandimala."

A quiet settled over us for a few clicks, and I wasn't sure if I should cry or keep standing here like I was. It was weird, but I didn't know what to do.

"This is going so much better than your meeting with her,"

A laugh escaped both Electel and me as Grinchain stage-whispered that to Iussa. The two of us separated and glanced at the two now in focus. The two of us looked at Grinchain and Iussa as the goddess glared at the mech. "You aren't earning any favors right now,"

In return, the mech shrugged. "I'm good. Pandimala's on my side, and as long as I keep her happy, I'm sure I'll be alright."

I rolled my optics but smiled as Electel returned to the dais beside Iussa. He was right. This meeting went better than I could have hoped for. Even with Electel's little test there, I knew we could have faced much more trouble. Even though my talk with Lord Bloodfall and my talk with Firebrand went smoothly, the banquet was growing closer, and the lack of information from the enemy we knew was here was disconcerting at best. After I was done here, I would see about having Grinchain take me to their central intelligence building to see if there was any new information.

Lord Bloodfall's 1st P.O.V.

"So, how did your meeting with Pandimala go?" I asked Electel as she sat across from me.

Instead of answering me immediately, the goddess glanced at me with a studying look. "Tell me about your meeting with her first."

My meeting? I was surprised at the calm decorum the femme exhibited during our meeting. That was, of course, despite her not following the customary social greetings. It had confused me. "Strange, yet I would say it went well. Very well, actually. Much more so than I expected from a practically unknown Decepticon." I then thought about my meeting with Lord Dawnbreaker and how tense he looked whenever the femme had been brought up. I had taken it as his nervousness about the situation that brought her here added to the incident during our presentation to him. "Lord Dawnbreaker and his family seem to know more about her, but our relationship isn't to a point yet where I can ask him about her more than I have."

"Don't," I was surprised to hear Electel tell me not to do something directly. "While I cannot tell you what the femme disclosed during our meeting, I can say that she has been through more than enough." She sounded…empathetic to the femme. That was strange. While Electel had gifted us with the ability to pick up on emotional feelings much better than most mechano-based beings, I had never heard the goddess sound as emotional as she did now.

Something significant must have happened during the meeting. Electel had mentioned that she felt the source of the chaos was here on Vestium Major. Given the events that I had witnessed and the reports that the embassy had, it was easy to deduce that Pandimala was the source of this chaos. However, to effect Electel, who outside of the Unicron had the most of his chaos energy flowing through her, spoke volumes of the sort of being she was. It was strange that she was this source, given that she was a child of Primus.

"What do you advise moving forward with her, then?" I asked the goddess. Electel would give me guidance in dealing with the Decepticon. However, from what I had heard, she would want me to keep close contact with the femme. I could do that. I knew she had a sharp processor from my talk with Pandimala, the other solar.

Electel smiled knowingly and leaned back, pulling out a strange device and fiddling with it. "Isn't it obvious? Do whatever you must to keep good relations with her. Given her loyalty to the Decepticons, you should consider contacting them. However, you should wait until Pandimala can return to her Lord. From what I was told, she is frustrated at the time she is losing in returning to him as it is, and if you start negotiations before Pandimala can prepare her Lord, she may not forgive you." My optics widened in nervousness as Electel gave me a soft warning glare. "And if she does not forgive you, I will not as well."

Point made. While I had planned to keep the femme close as it was, I would not risk the anger of my goddess. Though her wording spoke of not upsetting Pandimala during this situation, I could see the message behind the words. Don't upset Pandimala ever. Perhaps one solar, I would discover how Electel grew so close to the femme so quickly.

Holding up my servos, I motioned them toward her placatingly. "I have no plans to do that." With that out of the way, we needed to discuss another topic. "Now, we need to talk about the banquet. I have already informed Lord Dawnbreaker that I will accept his invitation and that you will attend as my guest, as you asked me to." I then pulled out a troublesome report out of my subspace. "However, Lord Dawnbreaker, Lord Oryax, and Emperor Thav have informed me of some trouble brewing."

The goddess raised an optic ridge at that. "Trouble? This is news to me. It didn't come up during my talks with Iussa or Pandimala."

I nodded and picked up my cube of energon. "Trouble for the Galactic Alliance. A psiar was hired by an unknown entity to force some political trouble. It would have worked, too, but the human he thought he was attacking was Pandimala's soliform. And speaking of the femme, Lord Dawnbreaker and the others theorize that the same forces that hired the psiar had a servo in manipulating Pandimala into the situation that forced her to stay here."

"And I have a feeling that your sire's actions as of late, which includes the attack he orchestrated against Majipoor, is a part of this as well." Electel pointed out as she picked up her cube of energon. "I'll contact Nowstra and see if anything has happened in his domain. Since Majipoor was chosen, there had to be a reason for them to use it in their attack."

That made sense. And since Nowstra was a chaos-centric god, he would easily talk to Electel. There was a force at play that was taking advantage of the weakness we had in the Alliance. I may be a new leader, but I would be Pit-bound if I let it fall so easily. And I was sure Pandimala was in the same processor set. "We've all worked to keep the Alliance floating during this turmoil. I will do my best to ensure the effort is not in vain."

Unknown 1st P.O.V.

"And everything is in place?"

I resisted my urge to scoff at the young mech on the other side of the monitor. I had been planning this attack too long, and no bot would stand in my way. I knew how this was going to go. I would release the creatures during that little banquet Lord Dawnbreaker was planning, and they would cause unseen casualties. More than Vestium Major had seen in millions of stellars. Yes, everything was coming together.

That was even with the little delays that cropped up.

Frag that femme for all eternity. Even here, she was getting in my way. She had to offline, and this attack would be the perfect way to get my revenge against her. I had plans, and I had been in a position to enact those plans. My new masters were some of the most powerful and influential beings in the galaxies, and having been delayed by that femme was insulting.

They had questioned me. Me! Said I should have been able to infiltrate easily enough. But nobot said anything about a monster like that. I had underestimated the femme, a mistake I would not make again.

"All is in place on my end. As long as you don't lose hold of anything else, the plan should go as it should," I responded to the young mech on the other side of the line.

"It should," He responded. "But that femme is making things difficult. I haven't been able to convince anybot to join us. Even those who are supposed to be under our masters are resistant to try anything while she is there. The femme is a danger to our plans."

A held back a growl at the reminder. "She will be dealt with when the time is right. Pandimala is not a femme to be underestimated; I can vouch for that." A jolt of pain traveled up my faceplate in a reminder of that fact. In those nanos, when I crossed her, I thought I was to be offlined. I still wasn't sure how I had survived that, let alone able to function. She was not a sentient being. She was a monster. A monster who was getting in the way of my plans yet again!

"You know her?" He asked in a surprised tone.

He would need to know this, given how the femme could interfere with his part of the plan directly if he grew too confident against her, as I had. "I met her briefly during my failed infiltration on Earth. She was the cause for that failure."

"And you're just bringing this up now?" That mech had better watch his tone with me. I had full leeway to do with our assets as I pleased, so said our Masters, and that included removing any assets that were no longer deemed useful. "I've been dealing with the femme blind for solars. This information would have,"

"Cease your babbling," I interrupted the mech with a growl. "We have neither the time nor the energy to bring up what could have been. We simply need to move forward. I'm unsure what you've said or done to her, but keep your helm down. If you are active against her, she will find out what we are planning."

"Is she actually that dangerous?" I couldn't believe the disbelief in the mech's vocals.

"More so than you, I assure you," I growled. "Now, are the mercenaries set as well?"

In return, the mech motioned behind him. "Set and paid. They know what they must do and have received their payment and bonus for the processor-wiping mod we placed in their denta should they be captured online. Plus, I have only interacted with them through coded messages through a proxy. No connection will come to you or me if this goes poorly." The mech then flinched. "I have to go. I am receiving a summons, and to avoid suspicion, I must go."

"Then go, and don't contact me again unless the plan succeeds. Otherwise, we should remain dark to move suspicion away from you." I ordered before I disconnected the line.

Once the screen went dark, I let out a vent and glanced at my notes. All of these plans. They had almost been ruined on Earth. That fragging planet, I hadn't even wanted to go there. But, the masters thought it was the perfect opportunity to ingratiate myself with Decepticon Command again. Instead, it had almost sent our entire operation up in flames! If Megatron and those buffoons had gotten their servos on me and my memories, then everything I have been working on would have been exposed. I couldn't allow that!

Rising from my seat, I left the communication room and went to the medical wing. I needed advice, and that medic would be the only one to give it to me. In what felt like no time, the doors to the med bay were opening before me. Inside, the room was dark. Of course, if anybot was injured enough to have to enter this room for medical reasons, they should not plan on leaving online, at least not in the same sense that they entered the room. Three yellow optics suddenly shone in my direction, studying me before their owner walked into the light. "What do you want? It's not often that you come to see me."

"If I could get this information elsewhere, I would. However, you are the only bot I know of on this ship who can answer me."

"So ask," Those yellow optics glanced to the side, most likely at his newest project.

"How long does it take for tox-en to disintegrate a chassis when ingested through energon?"

His optics refocused on me as I asked that. One of my many plans involved the future use of the substance, and I needed to get the timing down right. Tying up loose ends was always more manageable when the trail couldn't lead back to me. As far as those fools knew, I was still trapped on that Primus-forsaken dirtball of a planet. For the success of my plans, it would be best to keep it as such.

"You know, I've never thought of that," That had better not be the mech's way of saying that he wouldn't get me the answer. "The liquified form would have to be mixed into a potent high-grade to disguise the immediate effects. I'll have to run some experiments. Luckily, I still have a decent supply on servo for just such an experiment. If you provide me test subjects, I should have your answer within seven solars."

Perfect. That would be enough time for me to see if I needed to use it or not. None of my current operations could be tracked to me. If they were, it would ruin everything. This would be my failsafe to make sure that information wasn't leaked. "I can always count on you, Astroscope."

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

I smiled as I lounged back. While I was still worried about the banquet that was quickly approaching, I was in a moment of bliss, and, for once, I didn't see a fragging thing that would interrupt me. More importantly, I didn't see anyone who would dare interrupt me.

Correction, interrupt us. Glancing next to me, I smirked as I saw Poiman looking more relaxed than I had seen him. For such a carefree leader, that was impressive, honestly. Despite his brash way of speaking to others, the shark humanoid was such a carefree and friendly leader that it surprised me each time I heard him speak.

"You know, I wouldn't mind if you spent time with me in your actual chassis," The bull shark-esque king spoke up as he shifted his position on the seat he was on.

Once I moved my position, I smirked over at him. "True, but then I wouldn't be able to enjoy these massages." Speaking of, I glanced back at the masseuse working on my soliform's body. "Of which you are doing amazing, by the way, Lillia." The leopard shark-esque humanoid smiled at me and gave a nod; I'm assuming to let me know that she appreciated the praise before she returned to her work.

My response got a laugh out of Poiman. "Fair enough, though I still don't know if I believe it truly affects you through your soliform."

That caused me to roll my eyes. We already had this discussion. "Of course it does. If nothing else, the mental relief it sends to my chassis is just what the medics ordered for me. Given the events I've gone through here, this is the fragging Well." A sigh slipped out of my vocals when Lillia went over a particularly tense spot on my soliform. "Thank you, again, for inviting me out for this Poiman."

While I would normally use his title around others, this wasn't the first massage he had invited me to, and we had the same two working on us now as we did every session. So, they knew how relaxed Poiman allowed me to be with him in these situations.

"You're welcome," He responded to me before he let out his own relieved sigh. After a few moments, he started to speak again. "Honestly, though, you're one of the few beings I'm close with that will get a massage with me. Of course, the list of beings I trust to get this close to me is quite small." He then let out another relaxed sigh before he continued. "So I appreciate the time as much as you do."

I frowned as I caught a slight tinge of nervousness in his tone. It's not something I would have picked up when I first met the King, but I knew how to listen for it now that I had spent time with him. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything…yet," He admitted. "I may need a favor, though. If you wouldn't mind?"

I raised an eyebrow at that. Poiman was always open about asking me for anything before now, and that even included asking that, if I ever left the Decepticons, to come and join his court. So, for him to hesitate now was concerning. "What is it?"

Poiman cleared his throat before he answered me. "I've been asked to meet with Ambassador Zeecho of Vrol. Given the strain in the Alliance as of late, I am nervous about this meeting. That is especially given what the rumors say caused the trouble between Ethos and Majipoor."

While those of us in the know knew that the Quintessons had plotted with Wern's previous Lord to take over the planet and thus cause dissension in the Galactic Alliance, we couldn't say that without physical proof, which we didn't have enough of. So, we had spread the rumor around that New Qunitessa was involved. Not blaming them, but not discrediting the claim either. That meant other political powers who weren't under them would be nervous. And that seemed to be leading to this. "You mean the rumors about the Quintessons. Once I return to Pyrovar, I will add that information to my report to Lord Megatron. If they are trying that with members of the Galactic Alliance, then it stands to reason that we would be opportunistic targets as well."

"That would be wise," Poiman agreed before he continued his request. "Given that Vrol is a subordinate planet of New Quintessa that is mechano-centric, I was hoping to ask you to accompany me to the meeting as a guard and an observer."

Why was he asking me? I knew that the leader of Antiga Prime had subordinate planets with mechano beings. Ambassador Ranpar of Argus IV, Lord Gearcrank of Gor, and Lady Blanu of Soror were all on planet and under his jurisdiction. Based on my meetings with them, they would be more than willing to attend this meeting with him. "Why me? You have subordinate leaders and bots under you that would be more than willing to go with you."

"It's because I trust you the most in this situation," Really? "You aren't afraid to speak your processor, and while my subordinate leaders aren't either, they may not tell me if I am stepping out of line. I trust you to be fair and honest in this talk." He then let out a sigh. "Don't think I haven't heard of the trouble brewing that Lord Dawnbreaker has been keeping quiet. A force in the Alliance is trying to break us apart. I don't want to risk trouble for my planet because I went into this talk unprepared. So please, come with me to this meeting?"

At this point, Lillia and Starlon, who had been working on Poiman, had already left the room. So, I wrapped myself in my towel as I sat up. "I can't promise to be perfect, but if you think I'm your best play, let's do it. You're my friend, Poiman, and I'll stick with you in this." I then held out my hand toward him.

Poiman smiled and took my hand in his. "Thank you. The meeting is in one hour, and we will be meeting at the Airlandian Embassy. Ambassador Cozeran spoke with Lord Trizan, who spoke to Empress Ladania of Hydrus IV, and they have agreed to act as a neutral ground during this talk."

"Then I'll return here with my chassis in fifty clicks to walk with you and your guard," I agreed before nodding toward him. "Now, I better get back to said chassis. I promised Flarebell I'd play a round of fullstasis with her."

He raised the different textured skin that they called an eyebrow at me. "You think you will finish a game of fullstasis in that time?"

In response, I lightly smirked back at him. "I should. But, even if it does get too close, I'll have a legitimate reason to back out if I'm losing." I then winked at him before I allowed my soliform to disengage.

King Poiman's 1st P.O.V.

While I might have looked calm waiting for Pandimala to arrive, I could admit that I was nervous about these talks. While I've never had personal issues with New Quintessa and their allies before, I had never been particularly fond of them and their…tactics. Honestly, they were the dark stain of the Alliance, and I hated that my ancestors wanted them in the Alliance.

Of course, logically, I knew the answer as to why my ancestors pushed for their inclusion. The Quintessons were among the few powers who could trade on a galactic scale, dealing with organic and mechano products. If they were to leave the Alliance now, we would be in major trouble. None of the other leaders in the Alliance, including myself, had the resources to produce food and fuel for those outside of our domain. It was a weakness we hoped to change. While organic foods could be dealt with, the energon that mechano-based beings needed was a rare commodity behind which the Quintessons had the central market.

However, rumors from Decepticon space spoke of hope to change the tides.

Grown energon foods. Such a concept seemed ludicrous. Energon wasn't something that could be easily grown. Even the few existing energon 'farms' were just deposits slowly spreading and being mined efficiently so the supply wouldn't run out. The rumors spoke of energon that looked similar to many foods I saw regularly being produced and consumed by mechano-beings in a short time. Given that the Decepticons had only been on Pyrovar for just over thirty days, the fact that they already had their grown energon able to be edible was astonishing.

And while my friendship with Pandimala had been created solely on just that, friendship, I would be lying if I said I didn't see the benefit of being close to the femme. Despite whatever her rank in the Decepticons, it was a known fact that Decepticons took care of their own, one way or another. Would they necessarily interfere if a bot was captured? Not always. However, they would remember and use that incident against whoever the culprit was.

While I didn't know everything that caused the femme to have to stay on Vestium Major, I learned enough to know that Lord Dawnbreaker was extremely lucky that she was as understanding and wise as she was. He could have started a war with the Decepticons for that kind of offense. Given the problems the Alliance was facing now with her holding back, that might have been the turning point that would have ended us.

"You look nervous," I glanced up as Pandimala walked toward me. "Do you have bad blood with Vrol?"

I shook my head at that. "No, I'm just concerned with all the players in motion right now. Events are moving in ways I can't even begin to predict."

"Would you like my advice?" She asked as we started to make our way toward the Airlandian embassy.

As I was thinking earlier, Pandimala was a wise femme. Much more perceptive than her youth gave her credit toward. I would be a fool to refuse it. "I would, please," I answered her.

She nodded at that and faced forward before she spoke. "Don't try to predict it. Trying to predict what might happen will just put you on a singular path that you won't be able to move away from if it may be wrong." Though she was trying to hide it, I had spent enough time with the femme to hear the pain in her vocals as she answered me. "Instead, plan for anything. If I'm being honest with you, I've already planned how to get you and me out of the Airlandian Embassy should this be some sort of attack. If that situation happens, you won't be thrilled with me, and neither will your guards, but keeping the Alliance in a strong position will help me achieve the best possible outcomes. However, that is a worst-case scenario. I fully intend to go into this meeting with you with the best-case scenario in processor as I observe. However, I would be foolish not to think that the worst can happen."

What did she mean by that? "Wouldn't planning for anything mean that I would have to be able to predict what was going on?"

To my surprise, she shook her helm. "Not in the slightest. Instincts are powerful tools that many mechano-based species tend to overwrite as soon as possible. It wasn't 'socially acceptable' to enter a room you were invited into and immediately take note of exits and guards. Instincts, though, push us to do just that for our survival. I've noticed you did the same during our first meetings, as I hoped you noticed I did as well."

I had noticed that. Pandimala had been in her soliform and had immediately looked around the office we were meeting in, analyzing it. And she was right in that I had done the same to her when I met with her actual chassis for the first time. Now that she explained it like that, I realized what she was getting at. I needed to be prepared without overthinking things. Letting our base natures to the forefront during this time would save us more trouble than it would cause.

It amazed me still that she was so insightful as a mechano-based being.

"I see. Thank you for your advice, and I'll try to use it as best as I can," I thanked the femme, who had no responsibility to give such sound advice to me.

Pandimala was, in all retrospect, a neutral party thrown into the middle of a political battle she had no say in. While I already planned to meet with Lord Megatron in the future to discuss possible trade agreements and alliances, I may have to move my plans further along. I would be a fool to lose such an ally as this femme was.

Our party, which included myself, Pandimala, and four of my guards, stayed quiet as the Airlandian embassy came into view. Idle chit-chat would be for later when we could relax. I wasn't sure what Vrol wanted to meet about, as neither my planet nor any of my subordinate planets had trade agreements with them as far as I knew. Either one of my subordinate planets had gone behind my back and started trading with them, or something else was in play.

Not one to back down, though, I was ready for it, whatever the case.

Once we arrived at the embassy, my group was led through the security. That portion took slightly longer than planned due to Pandimala's involvement. I had felt it wise to avoid mentioning her involvement in this meeting. If Ambassador Zeecho was planning something, he would be doing so with the information that only my subordinates would be at this meeting. Having Pandimala there as a neutral force would throw him off of his plans should he be planning trouble.

After the security scans, the six of us were led to one of the further meeting rooms. Ambassador Cozeran must have been nervous about how the meeting would go, even though he allowed us to use their embassy. When we entered the room, I tried to resist the urge to check my surroundings. Mechano-beings I met with politically rarely took well to that sort of action. However, Pandimala's advice came back to me, so I took stock of the exits that we could use along with the bots that accompanied Ambassador Zeecho. Three rather large mechs, though none quite the size of Pandimala, were flanking the ambassador. A small change in the electrical field to my left caused me to glance to see a smaller mech staying in the shadows. I barely caught a glimpse of him. I wouldn't have noticed him if it wasn't for our ability to sense electrical fields.

"I am King Poiman of Antiga Prime," I introduced myself with a slight bow to the ambassador.

"King Poiman," the ambassador started with a half bow, hardly proper for a meeting. "I did not think you would hire mercenaries to keep company during our talks?" I noticed the way the mech was studying Pandimala.

One advantage I had right now was that Ambassador Zeecho had only arrived on Vestium Major the day of the Advancement Fair. He wouldn't have much information about Pandimala. Did he have some? Yes. I wouldn't doubt it. But was he entirely prepared for her?

Not a chance.

"She is a friend of mine who has graciously agreed to attend this meeting with me as a neutral party." I could see a look of annoyance cross his faceplate. Time to throw him off. "I find that Decepticons have a straightforward way of approaching any problems they may have, and Pandimala here will not be afraid to tell me if I speak out of turn."

There it was.

For just a moment, I saw concern in his optics. Another great thing about all of the time I had been spending with Pandimala was that I was slowly getting better at reading mechano beings. While I could read them enough before to get through negotiations well enough, Pandimala's uniqueness opened my eyes to how expressive bots could be if one knew how to look.

And his tell was in his optics. The slight dilation at my mention of her being a Decepticon told me he was not expecting outside interference on my side, let alone one from a Decepticon. Bots had to be ignorant not to know of the deeply ingrained hatred that bots from Cybertron had with the Quintessons. While I knew Pandimala wasn't a Cybertron native, she had to know some due to her allegiance, and that loyalty would cause anger in her toward the ambassador.

Looking at Pandimala, I felt relieved she was hiding her anger better than the mech. The only thing that gave her away to me was a slight dimming of her optics as she studied the mech in front of us. However, the look was brief. "My apologies; I did not realize you were so inundated with their kind."

"And what do you mean by that statement?" I demanded of the mech, a growl in my voice. While we were here to talk, I would not take kindly to any form of belittlement toward my friend.

"It is fine, King Poiman." I was surprised that Pandimala had spoken up. She was staring at me with a relaxed expression on her faceplate. "I am not the main focus of this meeting, and if the ambassador wishes to employ that tactic, he is more than welcome to. I'm sure Lord Megatron will be most interested in hearing how the ambassador of Vrol treats his Decepticons when he is not present."

That she didn't even look toward the mech as she spoke showed me that Pandimala was doing so on purpose. She was letting Zeecho know that his words wouldn't affect her, but she would remember them. Plus, since she was my guest, she was giving me a way out of the fight that may have occurred to defend her.

Clever femme.

"Pandimala is right. My apologies, ambassador," I spoke up. "Now, I do wonder what has brought on this meeting. I don't believe that our planets are in any trade agreements."

"They are not," Zeecho agreed, though I noticed him look at Pandimala before he continued to speak. "We have hope, though, that may change. Lord Jardac has a surplus of supplies that we currently do not have buyers for, and being a ruler over both organic and mechano beings, we felt you would be the best to offer a trade agreement with."

A trade talk? Something wasn't right about this. Firstly, nobot had a surplus of energon. Could that change in the next stellars? Yes. However, it was not Vrol that would be changing it. Worse, since I ruled one of the Alliance seats, New Quintessa would have sent a summary of what the trade talks would entail, even if it was to trade with Vrol. Either Vrol was going behind New Qunitessa's backplates to set up this trade, or New Quintessa was planning something.

So, I decided to ask the mech about it. "And why am I dealing with you and not ambassadors appointed by New Quintessa?"

A flash of anger seemed to cross the mech's faceplate at that. "You are, or did you miss that in my introduction?"

"He didn't, and you didn't say that," I glanced worriedly at Pandimala as she spoke up. Why did she look so angry? "You didn't even bother giving an introduction and just addressed King Poiman straight away, though King Poiman gave you his introduction. I'm not one for formalities, yet even I know to introduce myself in official standings." She then glared. "And I'll give your little friend this one warning. Tell the two-wheeler to stay behind your group and away from Poiman, or I'll stop him myself."

That caused Ambassador Zeecho to glare at Pandimala. "I don't know who you think you are talking to, femme, but watch your words. It would do the Decepticons little good to hear of the disrespect you are showing. And you see all who are with me. I have no others here."

"I can see all of your representatives?" Why was she asking that, and why was her voice so chipper? I had seen a smaller mech earlier, but he had left the room during Zeecho's proposal.

An arrogant look crossed Zeecho's faceplate. "It is, as I said, femme. Now, silence yourself, or you will be escorted away."

Instead of growing angry, the femme smiled and nodded. A nano later, she had her broadsword out and swung. I felt my heartbeat quicken as she moved it toward me. What was she…

A strangled yell rang through the air as her sword connected with the air. After a nano, energon flowed down her blade. An attack?! After a few more nanos, the cloaking devise the attacker was using flickered off, and there was a two-wheeler, just as Pandimala had said there was. He was different than the mech that I had seen leave. His silver and white armor seemed to have spots of invisibility still on them, and it made me realize that the mech must have a unique mod to allow him to turn invisible.

"How?" The mech struggled as he stared at Pandimala. While not piercing his spark chamber, her blade was embedded into his chest plate to a point where, if Pandimala chose to, she could easily cut into his spark chamber. He knew he was caught from the look in the mech's dark blue optics.

My instincts went into high gear as Pandimala glared down at the mech she had trapped. "You aren't as careful as you thought." Pandimala then turned her gaze toward Zeecho. "Do you know anything about this?"

"You blame me!?" I wasn't sure why he sounded surprised. If the attack had been against him, I was sure Pandimala would be directing that question to me. It was best to ask these sorts of questions while everyone was in a state of shock.

"Don't put words in my vocals," Pandimala's voice was low as she growled that out. "Since the attack was against King Poiman, it is only natural to ask the other party in the room. Just in case they have something to declare.

"Go get the guards," I ordered my head guard, Ulran. "And then report what has happened to Ambassador Cozeran. He should be informed."

"Surely the femme has everything under control?" Ambassador Zeecho couldn't be serious with that question. There was just an attack against me, and he was trying to make it out to be nothing. "Any competent Decepticon could."

A snarl left my voice before I could stop it. How dare he insult my friend?

"It is not my competence that has been called into question, Ambassador Zeecho," I hesitated as Pandimala spoke to the ambassador again. Since the insult was directed toward her, she had every right to defend herself, as I had to defend her. However, I was not going to let my guard down. "If I were not competent, this would-be assassin would have seen much greater success in his ploy." She then raised an optic ridge. "Though, I am curious how the mech who so resembles the other two-wheeler from your party, who is conveniently absent now, could pass the Airlandian security measures. I can attest that they are most thorough with their searches."

It was difficult to choose between the anger I felt at the insult Zeecho had just given to Pandimala and amusement at how Pandimala turned the doubt on him without outright saying it. If he tried to claim insult by her assuming that the other two-wheeler was with him, all we would need to refute the insult was the security footage from the room. If that so happened to be tampered with, a cortical patch would more than disprove his claim. That same footage would also show that Pandimala hadn't outright said that the mech was responsible so that any defamation claim would be thrown out just as quickly.

A slight smirk forced its way onto my face at the thought. Abyss-be-dried, the femme was terrifying. And she was my friend and ally. With each meeting I had with the femme, she continued to prove why I was wise to forgive the insult of her introduction to me when we first met.

Flashback.

I sat behind my desk, sorting through trade agreements in which my subordinate planets wished to partake. With tensions rising in the Alliance, I was worried about every interaction I made with other planets. While I agreed that Ethos would not have attacked Majipoor, especially in such a way, I needed to be cautious about how I presented my support. Despite how I felt about the issue, I needed to keep supply lines in mind as I made my decisions. I had organic and mechano worlds under my jurisdiction and would not allow them to suffer.

Picking up a report, I scanned through it and was curious. Lady Blanu was reaching out to inquire about trade with Pyrovar. The distance between any of my subordinate planets and Pyrovar was immense and would typically be more of a hindrance than a boon. Lady Blanu had pointed this out to me multiple times when I would meet with my subordinate leaders to look into opening trades with Talos IV, who was closer to us than Pyrovar.

So, what had prompted the leader to make such an inquiry?

I read the report about a recent visitor to Soror from Macron, which was relatively close to Pyrovar. The mech spoke of energon foods that the Decepticons claimed to have started to produce. Lady Blanu, understandably, wrote that she told the mech of her disbelief in the product. She wasn't ready for the mech to show her a memory of trying the food for himself. I would have to ask her to show me the memory when she arrived in a few days.

A knock at my door caused me to set the report down. It took my mind a moment to remember that, coincidentally, I had a meeting with the only Decepticon currently on the planet. Glancing to the side of my desk, I covered the report on said femme before I spoke. "Enter."

Immediately, the door opened, and in walked the soliform of the femme. All of us on the planet had heard how successful the Decepticon had been during her challenge of the Eternia Embassy. Watching the soliform walk in, thanking Ulran as she did, I could see how she could do so. With how she moved, I would have sworn that she was organic, not just bits of programming reflecting her consciousness.

As the soliform walked in, I noticed that Ulran looked nervous. However, I did not fear the soliform. Given that I had mechano species under my watch, I knew how to deactivate a soliform, even one as advanced as this one. As she continued forward, however, I was curious as she seemed to glance around the room. If she were organic, I would think she was looking for a way to escape the room should the need arise. However, that was preposterous. Mechano species didn't have those instincts, and Cybertronians especially had lost the chaos that brought those instincts about.

Still, it was quite strange.

"Greetings, King Poiman of Antiga Prime," The femme greeted me with a head bow in my direction.

That was it? Did the femme have so much narcissistic pride that she refused to give a proper greeting? "How dare you insult me," I growled at the femme. "To simply nod your head when you should kneel before the leader of multiple planets in greeting them."

Most mechano beings would retract their actions and immediately rectify their mistake, sometimes even giving full repentant prostration in seeking forgiveness. I had seen it several times among the more prideful mechano-beings I had met. Their instincts told them to know who was higher in station around them. While I didn't understand how that should be an instinct, I learned about their effects on my subjects.

"To kneel before you would mean I saw you as higher than myself," My eyes widened when the femme's soliform went against every instinct a mechano-based being should have. "And if you consider yourself higher than me, we will have issues. Only my Lord stands above me. All others are equals or, in rare cases, lesser." I narrowed my optics at the growl in the femme's vocals. Was she challenging me?

"It seems you have not learned how to observe those of higher station. While I am no god, I have earned the respect you should show!" I couldn't stop myself from raising my voice as I responded to her.

While I expected the femme to back down, I was surprised when she seemed to fortify her stance. "Gods have no hold over me. I'm personally hoping a certain aspect of order plunges into the closest smelting pit to him. Lord Megatron is the only one who will hold my allegiance. While I respect the leadership you must hold to govern over the planets you do, you do not get my allegiance from that simple fact!"

"Simple fact?" I yelled back at the femme. "My ancestors shed precious blood to build the peaceful kingdom that I have earned the right and responsibility to rule!"

"And that's all well and dandy, but that kingdom does not include me!" She shot back. "I understand that your ancestors fought to earn their place in the universe, but that should not dictate how I approach you. We are strangers, and to imply that I should bend my knee toward you simply due to your status is an insult to how I was raised and to my Lord. I will not do it!"

My brain couldn't function as her words registered with me. I usually did not trade with planets outside of the alliance, and the few I did were usually ones who harbored a small hope of gaining acceptance into the alliance. So, they were more than willing to accept the role the Alliance had placed on formal introductions.

Even though Cybertron had, at one point, wished entry into the alliance, I needed to remember that they had been spread out far across the cosmos, interacting with many varied cultures that may not have had the same teachings on formality as we in the Alliance were used to. While I had never encountered such governments, my grandfather told many stories of planets where he had to learn to interact with beings who held different customs.

Thinking back on how she had nodded toward me, there had been no malice or ill-intent in her look. Confidence was the central aspect of her I had seen, along with a hint of respect. Even now, in her angered state, the femme wasn't showing any of the typical physical markers of being disrespectful. Perhaps I was the one in the wrong? "I did not mean to insult your honor with my insistence," I apologized to her.

At my apology, her soliform relaxed in her seat. "And I apologize for losing my temper at the miscommunication. I have needed to defend myself more than I thought I would need to, and that defense came to the forefront."

While the sudden shift in the atmosphere was something I wasn't used to during a meeting with a mechano-based being, I smiled and held out a hand. "Then reintroductions seem to be in order. I am King Poiman, leader of Antiga Prime."

That introduction caused a smile to come onto the soliform's face. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, King Poiman. I am Pandimala, Decepticon triple changer." She then reached out with her hand before we clasped them together.

"A pleasure," I responded to her introduction before I sat back down. "Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

Pandimala smiled at that and leaned back. "As long as you do the same in return."

My teeth flashed toward the soliform as my smile matched hers. "It's a deal."

End of Flashback.

Lord Oryax's 1st P.O.V.

"My Lord, you seem worried." I glanced over at Ambassador Credax from where he was sitting across from me. I could hear the concern in his tone, and most solars it would be unnecessary for him to be concerned.

However, I was concerned. The banquet was the next solar, and we were all worried about it. "I'm concerned for the banquet," I answered him. "With all of the players here, Lord Dawnbreaker didn't have a choice. Not hosting a large event for the dignitaries on the planet would be a grave misstep in hospitality. And everybot knows it."

Credax nodded at that; his optics focused on me. "Including whatever enemies may try and strike. While I know we are worried about this mysterious force trying to tear down the Alliance, they aren't our only enemies." What was he getting at? Yes, we had enemies, but none of those were here.

"Explain, Credax. None of our enemies are on Vestium Major outside of whatever mysterious force moves against us."

"I'm talking about New Quintessa and its allies," He responded, a grave tone in his vocals. "We received the report from Pandimala and King Poiman about the incident at the Airlandian Embassy. While Ambassador Zeecho insists that the attacker was not a part of their party, I doubt that. The physical resemblance between the attacker and the other mech seen with their party is too great. If Vrol is not striking out against New Quintessa with this stunt, we could be looking at an inter-Alliance war."

While it was a harrowing subject, I knew it needed to be analyzed at this time. All of these instances of tension between the Alliance members were building, and with this latest attack, we were seeing a more defined divide. Before, the enemies of Vestium Major, and thus Ethos, were hidden, and we were watching what we said. Given the suspicion of New Quintessa for this attack and for setting up the attack on Majipoor that they framed us for, they were our biggest focus.

"New Quintessa and their allies will need to be watched carefully." I agreed. "While most of the leading planets of the Alliance seem to be at ease with each other now, I'm still not sure about Hydrus IV. The attack taking place in one of Empress Ladania's embassies makes me cautious. We will have to see how Hydrus IV officially reacts to the attack against King Poiman."

Credax let out a vent at that. "If only things were as they used to be." He then smirked. "At least New Quintessa has lost an ally in Wern."

I had to agree with that. With Lord Dawnbreaker gaining Wern as an ally at this time, our futures were much better off. Also, another potential ally could have long-lasting effects on the Alliance. "And then we have Pandimala, and Lord Dawnbreaker can make an alliance with the Decepticons through her. New Quintessa has kept a stranglehold on their Alliance seat largely because they supply most of the energon for the mechano planets in the Alliance."

That drew a thoughtful look from Credax. "If the Decepticons can produce their grown energon on a galactic scale, the usefulness of the Quintessons in the alliance will diminish to the point where we can seriously debate removing them from it."

Removing the Quintessons from the Alliance? I knew we were planning on weakening their hold on the Alliance: Give the rest of us more room to move around. This was another thing altogether. As I studied Credax, I realized this wouldn't necessarily be bad. The tyrannical behavior that the Quintessons displayed was a public secret amongst the Alliance. We knew that they were rotten. However, we understood that they were powerful, and they had influence. While we would have to tread cautiously, I could see where we might finally be able to serve them some long-overdue humility.

However, we needed to be cautious. One wrong move at the wrong time could spell catastrophe for the Alliance. "For now, we focus on the banquet and keeping everybeing in attendance safe.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"Have a good night, Pandimala,"

"Have a good night, King Poiman," I bid farewell to said ruler in return before I turned to make my way back to my quarters

It had taken us five cycles after the attempted attack against Poiman to finish the questions and patches that needed to be done. While I understood their necessity, it was still frustrating to go through the questioning. The assailant, Quidan, had refused to give a verbal confession, which was expected given the circumstances. However, when the Airlandians tried to use a patch on the mech, he activated a kill program that immediately took him offline.

I should have fragging seen it coming. It was so cliche, really. I used to see it in all the spy movies I would watch. The secret agent or assassin gets caught, which leads to them taking a lethal drug to kill themselves so they don't give away any secrets. But I didn't realize that such a program existed that we could self-activate. I needed to be more careful. And I needed to learn. Hopefully, I would be able to do some more research on the program after the banquet.

A cold chill ran through my systems at the thought of said banquet. It was going to bring trouble. I knew that. It was too easy of a target to ignore, and the enemy we were facing would not hesitate to take full advantage of it. We needed to be ready. I needed to be ready. I was admittedly the most accessible target that would be in attendance. There were no guards that would be keeping an optic or eye on me as I interacted with the guests that would be there. This could delay my healing and, in turn, my return to Lord Megatron. I could not allow that to happen.

Thankfully, I had already started to take precautions. My training had increased exponentially since the last incident, and I was almost back to full strength. That would give me a better chance against any attackers that should crop up. Then, I spoke to King Poiman, Lord Bloodfall, and Lord Dawnbreaker about ensuring their allies were prepared in case trouble struck. I had tried to meet with Lord Dometti to suggest the same, but his schedule was packed with prior engagements. Thankfully, Lord Dawnbreaker said he would speak to the current Lord of Pova about my advice.

We needed to be ready. There would be an attack. The question now was how they were going to do it. They could hire mercenaries and launch a full attack against Vestium Major, though that seemed least likely due to the movement of troops that would have been easy to find in the travel records.

Perhaps an assassination attempt? Given that this enemy had just tried to do so with Poiman, they would be foolish to try again with every being's guard up. Of course, they could try to plant some large-scale explosives and set them off at the central banquet location. That would cause plenty of offlinings and a power vacuum that would instill enough chaos into current tensions that our enemy could easily slip in and take over.

A yapping sound caused me to turn and smile as a young labac played with an even younger war beast. Caigal had mentioned that their kind encouraged their young to become close to a war beast pup when they were young. It would act as their protector should they take missions alone once they were adults. Ziter, Caigal's war beast, was currently at the embassy. I had a lot of fun with him once I was allowed to meet the creature. He acted a lot like a husky.

"Oh, hi, miss!" I focused on the young labac as he ran up to me. Given what I had researched on the different developmental stages of labac, he was probably thirty stellars old. So, technically older than I am but less mature. "My name is Ran'kiel, and this is Jiran, my war beast."

"Hi there. I'm Pandimala." I greeted him before I motioned to the two of them. "You two are out late."

He glanced up at my mention of the time, and I watched as realization seemed to show in his eyes. "By Murav, I didn't realize it had gotten so late. Mother is going to have my hide!" He then slightly bowed toward me. "It was nice to meet you, miss."

"It was nice to meet you too," I called after the young labac as they ran toward the embassy.

As I continued my walk, I allowed my thoughts to focus on his war beast. While they were the most common creatures found on Vestium Major, they were not the only ones. And despite the ferocity that they could show, they were not the most dangerous either. Our enemy could use creatures as well. Facit, one of Vestium Major's other large cities, was known as a creature hub. Many traders and collectors would gather there to exchange creatures they had captured and tamed. As it was on Earth, quite a few creatures were dangerous. If our enemy had a contact in those circles, it wouldn't be so farfetched to see them utilize them.

A yawn escaped my vocals as I walked into the palace. It had been a long solar, and next solar would be even longer. I would have to be up quite early to help with the final preparations. It didn't take long for me to walk the now familiar halls and enter my room. While hitting the washracks was tempting, I realized there was no time for that luxury tonight. It was best to enter recharge as soon as possible so I could be on high alert tomorrow. I was so close to going home and would not let our enemies stand in my way. I would get through tomorrow, and then one solar soon, I would arrive on Pyrovar and reunite with Lord Megatron.

Chapter Text

Lord Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

"How is Pandimala's healing progressing?" I asked Physis as I reviewed all the plans for the banquet this evening. Everything had to be right, and I didn't want any more surprises about Pandimala that would affect it. While I counted her as a friend, she seemed to bring more trouble with her than I ever imagined a bot could. If she went into the banquet in good health, maybe we could get through this without a major medical emergency.

Physis let out a vent and pulled up a datapad. "Given everything she has gone through, she's a walking miracle. From what we predicted, she has already cut her recovery time by eighty percent. Given that we weren't even thinking she would be moving yet, that is an accomplishment to be proud of, despite the mitigating factors helping her recover." The dark energon she told us about. However, we respected her privacy and refused to say anything about it. We had not even told Lord Bloodfall, our newest ally, about the substance being active in the universe.

Let alone that there was a whole fragging planet full of the slag populated by life that originated from it directly.

No, that would be a conversation I would put off for as long as possible. "So, nothing to worry about during the banquet?"

The medic shook his helm. "Nothing more than we normally have to worry about from her." That did not help my fragging anxiety about all of this.

"She'll be fine," Sandstorm spoke up from his seat. "Her training with me has been going much better than we predicted. She should graduate from the triple changer training here in seven solars with Leopel and Perfican."

Already? That was almost unheard of for Sandstorm. The shortest time a bot took before this was an entire stellar. For her to graduate in a fraction of that time was stunning. "Her snaps are under control?"

He nodded and seemed to mess with his datapad. A few nanos later, I received a video file from said me. So, I opened it as Sandstorm spoke. "The last seven snaps that we triggered from her succeeded. She didn't lose control and kept herself conscious to warn the bot down. I know from experience with similar snaps that I have trained that it will be the furthest we will train her snap. From that experience, I suspect that she will have even more control of her snaps while in the presence of Lord Megatron or under his direct orders."

Yes, from the clips I watched, I could see that the femme had a firm handle on her snaps. She had not been exaggerating when she claimed she would return to her Lord as soon as possible. However, despite all of this, there was one more aspect of the femme I wanted to go over before we moved on to security plans for the banquet. "Physis," My medic focused on me as I spoke. "While Pandimala's physical healing has progressed further than we thought possible, what about her wings and t-cog?"

For the first time in this discussion, Physis looked hesitant. They were some of the femme's worst damaged parts and were usually tricky to repair with minor injuries—not the ravaging her chassis went through from our defense systems. "They are healing, though they aren't quite where I want them to be given her healing capabilities. I don't see them being usable for another thirty solars. I know Pandimala won't be happy to hear that, but those are delicate systems."

"So, she will stay here for at least that long?" I guessed.

However, I was surprised when Physis shook his helm. "Not necessarily. She should be ready for space travel once she graduates from triple-changer training. She just can't physically fly out as she would like. If she were to get a ride from another in their ship, she could leave with them."

"And even though Decepticons don't travel through our sector often," Sandstorm added, "It isn't unheard of. That is especially true with their mass flight to arrive on their new capital world. Given that Pandimala seems to break the odds of fate, then we should mentally prepare ourselves for that possibility."

While it was terrifying to think of another Deception being here at the same time as Pandimala, they were right. We should be prepared for that eventuality. Hopefully, it won't be a bot that causes us issues. That was all we needed at the click. And that was especially true if the banquet went any way but perfectly.

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it," I ended that conversation. "For now, we need to prepare for the other dignitaries for the night." Pulling up the guest list with the RSVPs that we received, I started to read off those who would be attending.

However, as I read the names of those attending, I felt worry creep back into my spark. Enemies were surrounding us, and all it would take was one claim of attack to set the entire night off. And Pandimala wasn't exactly known for her subtlety in politics. There were names on this list that would try to make the femme trip up. However, there was no way to avoid potential confrontations. I would have to invite her with how Vestium Major had attacked Pandimala, even if she was not my friend.

And with how Pandimala seemed determined to meet different beings and make connections, she wouldn't pass on a premier opportunity like this. No, she would have been first in line, regardless. Perhaps I could introduce her to a few of the leaders she hadn't met yet that I knew would take to her. Yes, that might be my best plan.

Thinking of my past plans with Pandimala, I barely avoided letting out a vent. Regardless of the outcome, this was going to be a chaotic night.

Was it too late to give my sire his throne back?

Lord Oryax's 1st P.O.V.

Dawnbreaker was nervous. Of course, I really couldn't blame him. Almost all of the guests had arrived outside of a few. It was one of those few that had Dawnbreaker nervous. Pandimala had said she was planning on coming near the end of the presentations, though she hadn't said why. Another strange thing was that the femme had not said who she was coming to the banquet.

"Presenting Empress Ladania and Ambassador Flamintra of Hydrus IV," Utaz, the night's presenter, announced to the crowd.

I gave the necessary applause in greeting but felt even more concerned. Pandimala was now one of the few bots that had given a positive RSVP that had not arrived. Where the frag was she? Looking at Dawnbreaker, I could see his anxiety about her absence was driving him crazy. Any being who was paying attention to him could see that he was concerned. Of course, I was too. Given all of the recent tensions in the Alliance, we had to make sure that we presented ourselves at our best, and for Pandimala not to show up might cause concern among those rulers who had heard about what happened to her.

"Sir," Glancing at Credax, I noticed he looked confused.

"What is it, Credax?" I encouraged the mech.

He motioned at Empress Ladania as he answered me. "Empress Ladania and Ambassador Flamintra look rather…mischievous, I think."

Glancing at the two, I realized that he was right. The centaurs were looking rather smug, and that was leaning toward a mischievous air about them. I knew that the Empress was still neutral in her thoughts on the divide in the Alliance. Any strange way she acted could spell trouble for Dawnbreaker, and as his subordinate, I needed to be prepared to take action.

"Lord Oryax, Ambassador Credax; it has been years since we last met," I focused as said Empress walked over and greeted me.

So, I knelt to her in proper greeting before standing. "Empress Ladania, Ambassador Flamintra, we are honored. I hope your stay on Vestium Major has been going well."

Empress Ladania nodded and smiled. "Yes, all things considered, my stay has been most pleasant. However, I wish to apologize to Lord Dawnbreaker for the disturbance at the Airlandian Embassy. It was a faux pas that I have been investigating thoroughly." She was speaking on the attack against King Poiman there that Pandimala stopped. "I am glad King Poiman brought Lord Dawnbreaker's Decepticon guest."

I smiled at the praise Pandimala was receiving. "I'm sure that Pandimala was glad to be there as well. King Poiman considers her a friend, and Pandimala also considers him one."

"Indeed." Empress Ladania spoke, though there was no surprise in her voice as I thought there would be at that revelation. My nervousness about her mischievous air was coming back to the surface.

Before I could say more, Utaz spoke up. "Presenting Lord Trizan of Airlandia and his guest, Pandimala."

My optics went to the entrance, and I felt shock and relief as Pandimala came in next to Lord Trizan. The large locomotive mech, who was a few meters taller than Pandimala, looked calm. The femme in question, however, definitely looked like she had planned this. I had many questions, but they could wait until I could talk to Pandimala alone.

The message being shown took precedence, and I was sure Lord Dawnbreaker felt mighty relieved at the click. If Empress Ladania allowed this, and given the looks being passed between the two new arrivals and Empress Ladania she had, then she would show open support toward Lord Dawnbreaker since Pandimala was his special guest right now. Any political enemies of ours hoping to sway Empress Ladania to their side were told to shove it.

I had to give it to them; the beings of Hydrus IV and their subordinates knew how to make a fragging statement.

As Pandimala and Lord Trizan approached Lord Dawnbreaker, I asked the Empress about it…in a roundabout way. "I hadn't realized that Pandimala knew Lord Trizan that well."

Empress Ladania smirked at that. "Yes, after the incident at the said embassy, Lord Trizan requested Pandimala's presence to apologize for what she went through after we apologized to King Poiman. I was thoroughly impressed with how she handled herself, despite the unusual customs she holds in greeting others." She then let out a laugh and nudged her ambassador. "Flamintra went into quite the tizzy at that one."

"It wasn't normal behavior, especially for a mechano-based being," Flamintra huffed while flicking her tail. "I thought she was preparing to attack."

"If you thought that was bad, then you should have seen her with me," Lord Doclan laughed as he joined us. As he did, I noticed that Pandimala and Lord Trizan had moved on to talk to Lady Blanu of Soror. After he gave the proper greetings, he continued. "I wanted to meet her, given her training sessions with young Perfican, and she agreed to meet with me on her free solar off. I thought I was meeting the wrong femme. Not only did she not bow fully to me as I expected, but she also heard how I had voiced my concern about Perfican's training. I had heard he was falling behind and voiced my concern. I can admit I wasn't the nicest to him, but I hadn't thought I hurt the mech as she said I did. Frag, did she lay into me for that one."

I couldn't stop a laugh from escaping me at their experiences with Pandimala. Thankfully, my first meeting with her and our official talk went well. "Thankfully, my meetings with the femme have gone quite well each time."

"Of course, you had the advantage of hearing about her before," Flamintra said, shaking her head.

Perhaps I did for my official talk with her, but I shook my helm at her first statement: "I hadn't gotten the information about her before I met her. Young Seabreaker was charged with showing her around but had a message from his sire to deliver to me. That message about said femme helped me in our first official meeting. However, I had been unprepared to meet her that solar when I did."

Even thinking back to that solar, it was strange. Before then, I knew enough about Decepticons to know that she wouldn't follow all of the social norms that most expected of mechano beings; however, she had still pushed that boundary further.

"If I remember correctly, my Lord, you had just arrived on the planet," Credax reminded me, making me realize I had rudely gone silent without finishing my story.

So, I followed off of his words. "That's right. So much happened that solar, and it was strange to think of my meeting with her happening that same solar. Young Seabreaker had been showing her around while also being tasked by his sire to get a message to me. While both were surprised at my arrival, Pandimala had studied me almost as if I were a curiosity. Once Seabreaker introduced us, she immediately treated me like any normal bot one might walk by on the streets. Even tried to have a bit of fun trying to get me to act surprised at Physis treating her."

"Speaking of that," A shiver traveled through my chassis at the voice that decided to join our conversation. Glancing to my side, I barely kept a frown off my faceplate as Lord Pitsnare of Rotan joined our group. Dismissing or admonishing him for jumping into our conversation would be rude. He was the only ruler under New Quintessa present this solar, and the highest ranking member of that Alliance seat that was present as well. I had to be cautious in how I approached him. "How did a seemingly random Decepticon receive treatment from Vestium Major's top medic?"

It also didn't escape my notice that he did not greet the Empress. Either he had just made a political faux pas that New Quintessa would punish him for later once they heard of it, or they were planning something.

Thankfully, we had discussed how to answer this question should it be brought up. "There was an unfortunate communication mix-up that led to Pandimala becoming injured. In recompense, Lord Dawnbreaker has spared no expense in ensuring she is well cared for. None of us are gods, after all, and Pandimala understood that mistakes tend to happen. She spoke of being relieved that Lord Dawnbreaker handled the situation as professionally and swiftly as he did."

I saw a brief flash of annoyance cross his optics. "I see. Lord Dawnbreaker is most fortunate these solars. Though, I do hope he takes caution," What was he on about? "Decepticons are unpredictable on their better solars." A flare of anger went through my circuits at the insult the mech threw at Pandimala. For him to speak so poorly of one of Lord Dawnbreaker's guests, not to mention a friend of mine, I barely held myself back from saying something.

The hungry look in his optics told me that was precisely what the mech wanted. He wanted me to slip up and strike out at him. As we suspected, New Quintessa was striking back. Between their enmity with any Cybertronian and the pressure our rumor mill was placing on their credibility, it was causing them to try and trip us up. We didn't have hard proof that they were behind the Majipoor incident, and if we were found causing trouble, we would be seen as the aggressors.

"Lord Pitsnare," The mech jumped as Empress Landania spoke. Thankfully, the mech had already made a social mistake that would make his plan here a little harder to accomplish. Thank Parthis that those under New Quintessa seemed to disdain organic beings despite the high status many held. I would typically thank Primus, as Parthis would wish those of Ethos to do, but given what I had learned from Pandimala about Paul, I was reluctant to invoke the god of Order. "I believe that you have misjudged Pandimala in her temperament. I have personally found the femme most enjoyable and highly intelligent." She then frowned and flicked her tail aggressively. "Plus, she showed the respect she could for those above her. Something that you could learn from."

At that click, the mech must have realized he had not greeted the Empress properly. So, he knelt. "My apologies, Empress Ladania." He looked like each word he said was offlining him. "I must now take my leave and meet with Ambassador Zeecho. Have a good solar." The mech then made a hasty retreat.

Flamintra huffed at his retreating figure and pawed at the ground. "Hells, that mech gives me the creeps. And the way he spoke to you, my Empress,"

"At ease, Falmintra," The Empress soothed her subordinate. "New Quintessa and their allies are under fire for the first time in millennia and are not taking it as gracefully as others in similar circumstances." She then smiled. "Though I must admit, I am even more excited to make connections with the Decepticons. If their grown energon becomes as profitable and convenient as we hope it will, the era of New Quintessa's monopoly of sustenance will end." She then smirked. "So have patience, dear. Everything will turn out alright eventually."

A chime going off caused us all to pause and turn toward the main doors to the dining hall. Once the room went silent, Dawnbreaker addressed us. "My noble guests, welcome to my humble palace for this special banquet this solar. I am pleased that each of you has accepted my invitation." He then paused and scanned the crowd. "Empress Ladania, King Poiman, Lord Dometti, and Lord Bloodfall, if you would please join me in leading us to the table, I would be grateful."

With that summon, Empress Ladania left our circle and moved forward. As she did, though, I glanced around the room and felt concerned. Something didn't feel right. King Caprigo of Dendron Beta and Judge Al-Badur of New Quintessa, since they had RSVPd that they were not coming, were not in attendance, but the number of beings in the room seemed off. Too many. Hopefully, they were just guards staying out here during the feast.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

I felt nervous. Of course, I was playing a risky game at the click and couldn't afford to make a single mistake. We knew there would be some form of attack this solar. Whether that be physical or political, we weren't a hundred percent sure. Honestly, it could be both if my luck came into play. But we were trying our best to minimize the damage. Even having Electel here with Lord Bloodfall wasn't easing me as much as I thought it would. And he wasn't even a part of the plan.

To be fair, though, my inclusion of Hydrus IV and their subordinate planets was very last click. When I received their summons earlier this solar, I was nervous. Not much had been said between Lord Dawnbreaker and said planet, so we had been unsure of where their interests lay. Thankfully, my worries had been put to ease at the opening of the meeting when, not only did Empress Ladania not react angrily at my nodding to her instead of kneeling, but she had then turned around and apologized for what happened at the Airlandian Embassy. However, it was by no means any of their faults.

I used the apology to speak to the empress about her concerns. After some talking, she admitted that she was worried about the brashness that certain parties were showing lately. It didn't take long to connect that input with New Quintessa and their subordinates. Once that was in the open, we could communicate much more clearly.

Empress Ladania admitted that she had the same concerns when I raised my concerns for the banquet. With growing tensions, the banquet was the perfect place to strike at multiple leaders and emissaries in one go. So, we decided to announce Empress Ladania's support towards Lord Dawnbreaker at the banquet.

And the best way to do that was to be escorted in by one of her subordinate leaders.

Thankfully, Lord Trizan was a very amiable mech, and we could talk with each other comfortably. That allowed our entrance to seem even more natural when we arrived. However, the calm that seemed to be created by our entrance did not last long. Ambassador Zeecho and Ambassador Garbian of Zull decided to approach us, and it was not easy to keep myself from ripping their helms off. A couple of times, Lord Trizan had to physically place a servo against me to remind me to stay calm.

When I first met Ambassador Zeecho, I was sure I wouldn't be affected by the long hostility that those who followed the Quintessons and Cybertronians had. However, that meeting had proven otherwise. Talking to the two Ambassadors earlier made that fact even more apparent. Now that the others followed the Alliance leaders into the banquet, I began counting the attendees. In total, sixty beings had RSVPd, each bringing one guest.

Even Lord Dawnbreaker had only brought his bondmate. Seabreaker, Grinchain, Lightbeam, and Firebrand were on standby on the other side of the palace. So, there should have been one hundred twenty total beings. However, as I reached the end of the line, I felt a frown forming on my faceplate. I was already at one hundred fifteen bots, and there were six more…

A low growl escaped my vocals as I realized what must have happened. One of Vestium Major's enemies had brought an extra guest and was trying to make Lord Dawnbreaker look incompetent. That was not going to happen, not on my watch.

"Pandimala, are you well?" Lord Trizan asked me as he stopped next to me. It was something we worked out if I seemed to be hesitating about something. While I wasn't expecting to react quite this soon, I was glad we had this worked out.

Shaking my helm, I leaned closer to him so I didn't have to speak loudly. "There is one extra bot here." Then, louder, I continued as if to answer the question. "I think I may have overworked myself these past solars. Please extend my apologies to Lord Dawnbreaker, but I am going to go outside to see if the night air will relax my circuits a bit. I'll probably head down to the lake."

Understanding flashed across his optics before he nodded. "I will, but I expect a makeup date to compensate for this."

Fair enough. Hopefully, we could discuss a few things. Something that I learned about the Airlandians was that they were well-known for their spacecraft engineering. While I didn't have many credits to my designation, I might have enough to pay a bot for a cheap junker. Just something to get me to Pyrovar. It didn't even have to survive the trip.

Back to the Lord, however. "Of course." I then let out a laugh. "If we both survive the solar, we can get some energon sweets from those vendors you were raving about on the way here."

With that, Lord Trizan followed the rest of the guests into the dinner. As I walked away and heard the doors close, I felt a sense of foreboding travel through my chassis. Something wasn't right. But the most we could do was brace ourselves. There were plenty of bots in the actual banquet to help stop any attacks from within. Going to the lake would put me in a spot to cover any attack from there. Whatever this night brought, we would be ready for it.

I would be ready.

Emperor Thav's 1st P.O.V.

"Are you saying I made a mistake, Lord Dawnbreaker?"

I fought the urge to shake my head as Lord Pitsnare raised his voice. If we weren't prepared for them to try something, I would have been angered at the tone the mech was taking with Dawnbreaker. As the doors were shut, it was apparent that Ambassador Narcus of Tixlara had come after Utaz finished the announcements, though the mech had said no to his RSVP. Lord Dawnbreaker had purposefully had us look through New Quintessa's allies, and we made sure that each one of their RSVPs was accounted for.

All of that time was wasted, given the current situation.

"No, Lord Pitsnare," Dawnbreaker responded to the mech. "However, neither my allies nor I received a positive RSVP from Ambassador Narcus."

This response caused the Lord to narrow his optics. Since such an affront usually meant that the offended party simply left, I realized they were trying to prove a point. "Forgive me if I find myself hesitant at your guarantees. Given how your last 'missed communication' went, I find myself doubtful of your claims."

The room went silent as the indirect challenge was stated. My fingers twitched, wanting to reach for my blade. However, I couldn't allow myself to do so. This banquet could still end successfully if this challenge could be resolved quickly and efficiently. "Be careful of your words, Lord Pitsnare," Dawnbreaker growled, cold anger in his optics. "If you do not have sound proof of your accusation, then that could be seen as an act of aggression against Vestium Major. Despite the troubles I have faced recently, New Quintessa would not be fond to hear of any trouble being caused by one of their subordinate planets. At least, not without their approval."

Silence continued to fill the room as the two leaders kept optic contact with each other. Lord Dawnbreaker had thrown the gauntlet, figuratively, of course. Either New Quintessa supported the Rotanian's proclamation, or the leader needed to ask forgiveness quickly. And given the stares around the room, there would be little time for the mech to do so.

…Wait, it was too quiet. Glancing around, I felt worried when I didn't see Pandimala. Given that Lord Pitsnare was invoking the attack against her to put Lord Dawnbreaker in this difficult spot, I was sure she would have stepped forward to admonish the Lord. However, given Lord Pitsnare's anger, that might not be a good idea.

After a few clicks, Lord Pitsnare must have decided against whatever he was planning. "My apologies for allowing my anger to overtake my sound reasoning." While that wasn't a complete apology, it would at least allow the night to continue. "However," Nevermind. "There is still the issue of seating for the ambassador. It would be highly inappropriate to ask the mech to stand, yet it would be the same for most guests present." Most of the guests? It would have been unacceptable for any of the guests here to stand for the duration of the meal. However, getting another chair in here with the doors already shut would make Dawnbreaker look ill-prepared.

"I believe I can help with this situation," I almost flinched as Lord Trizan spoke up from behind me. All visuals in the room turned toward the mech as he walked past me and toward Lord Dawnbreaker and Lord Pitsnare. Wait…he was with Pandimala. Where the hells was she? "Pandimala was feeling strained and asked me to extend her most sincere apologies to Lord Dawnbreaker for leaving the banquet so soon. I would be honored to have Ambassador Narcus sit beside me during the banquet."

…She wasn't feeling 'strained'.

As Lord Pitsnare thanked Lord Trizan and we all made our way to our seats, I allowed myself a brief smirk. Pandimala must have counted the guests and realized an extra guest was in attendance. Since she wasn't a political leader, her absence from the dinner would create fewer issues than her staying would have caused. Dawnbreaker would owe that femme favors from now until the end of life as we knew it. It was amazing that we had never heard of Pandimala before she arrived here.

And that was even knowing her fragging history. No word came from that planet about her outside of a report that mentioned her, though not through her actual designation. Now that I thought about it, we didn't know what she did for the Decepticons during her time on Earth. Maybe I would ask her about it tomorrow?

"Emperor Thav," Galcan whispered as we stood in front of our seats, waiting for Dawnbreaker and the other main Alliance leaders to sit down, "Lord Pitsnare does not seem all too pleased now."

Glancing at said Lord, I smirked when I saw his irritated expression. "No, he does not. Hopefully, he has learned to mute his vocals when he has nothing intelligent to say."

Talk then stopped as the leaders sat, prompting the rest of us to follow suit. As the courses were starting to be served, Galcan leaned back toward me. "I wonder if he will try anything else tonight?"

"I certainly hope so," I flinched as Ambassador Goldust leaned in to join our conversation. "Apologies for interrupting your conversation, but I couldn't help but overhear." I would usually think a being had been eavesdropping on purpose with how quietly we talked. However, chiroleps had extra sensitive hearing, and it would not be outside the realm of possibility for him to have picked up our whispering with ease.

So, I figured it was best to apologize. "I should be the one to apologize for not inviting you to join our conversation." Since he was on my other side, it had been rude for me not to invite the ambassador to talk.

"Nonsense," he laughed, reaching out one of his hands toward his drink. Once it was in his hands, he paused and tapped one of that hand's three digits against the rim, creating a light clinking sound. "Talking about the rudeness others show can be a sensitive topic and not one you may want to speak of with me. I understand." His blue compound eyes were hard to follow, but it seemed he was looking toward Ambassador Narcus.

Interesting. Dendron Beta was still a dark horse in this. They had been on Wern's side during the trouble between Majipoor and Ethos, but we hadn't heard much about their leanings since that mess was cleared up. From how his moth-esque wings were twitching, the ambassador either had some personal quarrel with Narcus or relations between Dendron Beta and New Quintessa were not good. Perhaps they had supported Wern more, and New Quintessa was just an unfortunate side effect?

So, I would put out a feeler and see how the chirolep responded. "New Quintessa seems to be pushing its boundaries as of late."

Goldust's eyes narrowed at Narcus as he nodded, his large bat-esque ears twitching slightly. "That has become more noticeable. I plan on speaking with Lord Dawnbreaker on behalf of King Caprigo. My recent meetings with New Quintessa's subordinates, both Lords and ambassadors, has raised a concern that the rest of the Alliance should be aware of."

This was a bad subject to talk to the ambassador about. Whatever mess New Quintessa was causing still angered the ambassador. Given his normally calm composure, seeing that look on a being who towered over me was terrifying. Thankfully, further conversation was halted as my first course was placed before me.

The meal seemed to go peacefully after that, and, for a moment, I believed that everything would work out. I would have to tell Dawnbreaker what Ambassador Goldust told me. Since we were keeping track of the trouble New Quintessa was seemingly in the center of, this would be just another piece of the puzzle. It also confirmed that something was going on in the shadows. With our lack of information, however, we were stuck waiting until something happened.

I jumped as an alarm suddenly blared, and the room audibly locked down. Turning to Dawnbreaker, I saw he looked as worried yet confused as I felt. What the frag was happening? "Lord Dawnbreaker, what is going on?" King Rollis of Ork demanded as he stood from his seat, his ambassador beside him.

In return, Dawnbreaker paused for a nano, noticeably receiving a private message, before he spoke. "The city is under attack, and given the high-profile beings here, the room has been locked down."

"Under attack?"

"Who would dare?"

"This could mean war!"

"Silence!" The room went silent as Lord Dometti stood from his seat, his son by his side. "Are you leaders, or are you simpering fools? Either stay silent or help. These exclamations serve no purpose." While most beings were looking at Lord Dometti when he spoke, I allowed my eyes to move to his son. Sharpstreak seemed too calm. It wasn't a front to calm the masses as his sire was putting on. No, this was a different sort of calm. I would have to inform Lord Dawnbreaker of my suspicions once this mess was settled. "Lord Dawnbreaker, what do you know of the situation outside?"

"From what Scorchflint has reported, they are mercenaries from Luxor. And not only that, but they have released thousands of creatures from Facit into the city. My soldiers have already begun evacuation protocols, as have the troops of my subordinates."

"I shall contact my embassy and have them and my subordinates send aid. While the mercenaries won't be much trouble, the creatures housed at Facit can be ruthless and deadly." Lord Dometti immediately spoke up.

As other leaders who were present started the same process, with the organic leaders using the communication terminals in the room, I was worried. Many creatures in Facit would specifically hunt organics despite other food sources nearby. My people were in trouble, and I could do nothing but sit here!

"It'll be alright," I turned to Galcan as he spoke. "You have made sure your people are well-trained for battle. They will stand strong, even without you on the front lines. Caigal is incredibly capable of leading your forces."

Thank Murav I had Caigal there to help. I couldn't imagine…HELLS! "Dawnbreaker!"

Dawnbreaker turned to me with a confused look on his faceplate. I was breaking the formalities right now, but it was necessary. "What is it, Thav?" He must have realized I was serious.

"Have you had word from Pandimala?"

The energon drained from his faceplate for a nano before he cursed and got onto his comm. From the frustrated look that stayed, he was not getting through to her. While she was a guest here, Pandimala did not have anyone who would have called her first. All of her contacts had other responsibilities. Caigal would need to keep our troops calm and contact me, and her other friends would have similar responsibilities. She needed to be found. Slag that fragging ambassador for coming without an RSVP. If he hadn't, Pandimala would have been in here and out of harm's way.

For now, I could only pray to Murav for her safety.

Chapter Text

Caigal's 1st P.O.V.

The embassy was in chaos. I had been going to Garl's to discuss an order I had placed with him when the sirens first went off. While not at our embassy, I knew that it could only mean trouble. So, I immediately returned to the main embassy building to assess the situation. What I saw made my heart stop. On our observation screens, creatures of all shapes and sizes were rampaging through the streets. Tyrexians, scraplets, dwellers, drillers, acklays, fizgigs, who were as terrifying to organics as scraplets were to mechano species, and for the same reason, dactillions, drakoulias, and dimorxians were flooding on my screen along with countless other species that I did not recognize.

And the ones behind the attack were not keeping their identities a secret. The mercenaries of Luxor could be seen ransacking different homes on the security feeds. While they had not breached the Eternia Embassy, they were pushing their assault. If we survived this night, there would be thorough investigations as to who might have hired them.

For now, though, I needed to take charge. "Caigal," I turned to see Garl walking into the room. However, the large packages on his shoulders confused me. This was not the time for showing off his latest weapon.

"Now is not the time, Garl. We must take action against the attackers, and we need an accounting of all those registered at the embassy." I ordered him as I made to move past him.

However, I was surprised when he held up a hand. "I already have Ulthan'zur going through the embassy registry with all those who have arrived at the emergency shelter. Sh'qtar is assembling the troops to prepare to support Vestium Major and search for any missing that may appear on the register." He then motioned to the package that was still on his shoulders. Now that I got closer, whatever he was carrying was too cumbersome for even our largest soldiers. "And this is for Pandimala. Emperor Thav just contacted us and said the femme is currently MIA. Since part of her order is done, I would rather give her the best chance to survive."

Pandimala was out there, and no one had seen her. I thought she was supposed to be at the banquet! Hells, that femme always seemed to be in the middle of everything. At least I knew she could care for herself for a while. And, knowing her, Pandimala would try to make her way to embassies that were friendly toward her. Depending on where she was when the attack started, the most likely embassies she would aim for would be here or the Antiga Prime embassy. While she had made friends with the other embassies, those would be the ones who would immediately send word that she was okay.

Given that Pandimala had been worried about security during this event and had fully admitted that she seemed to be in the middle of most of these attacks, she would ensure we knew where she was. So, unless she was stopped before reaching one, we would eventually hear from her. Making sure that we could account for her whereabouts would be one of the first things she would do.

"Once Ulthan'zur confirms how many are still unaccounted for, you can try to contact Pandimala. Undoubtedly, the femme will be in the thick of the creatures." I agreed before I motioned toward the doors. "Let's see if he has any updates on the roll call."

Garl nodded, and so the two of us started to make our way. Thankfully, I knew we wouldn't have to go far to the shelter area. My ancestors had purposefully planned the embassy so that the main embassy building and the shelter were in the center. It would take longer for an attack to reach us here than if we were placed elsewhere.

Glancing into the sky, I saw many flying creatures approaching our location. While the streets were peaceful now, that would not last long. The dactillions and dimorxians were the most concerning to me right now. Dactillions would especially be looking for organic prey, such as labac, and the dimorxians were indifferent in whether their prey was organic or mechano. When we launched our offensive, I would have to ensure that the troops sent out were well-armed to fight them.

It only took us a few more minutes to reach the shelter. Once we arrived and Garl set the blades for Pandimala outside, we walked inside, and I felt relaxed. From the look of the room, most of those at the embassy were here. There would be few, if any, that still needed to arrive. That was a report I was sure father would be eager to hear. Of course, since the banquet was going on, most embassies would have restricted curfews for themselves. Not overbearing, but strong recommendations to stay near the embassy.

It took me a few moments to locate Ulthan'zur. The smaller labac had a data pad in his hands, and he was seemingly scrolling through it. In front of him was Mareth. She and her son had been regular visitors to the embassy over the years, so I had come to recognize her quickly enough. However, the concerned look on her face told me that something may be wrong.

"I'm not seeing him on my check-in list," Ulthan'zur said as we walked up. "Do you remember when you last saw him?"

Someone was missing. And since Mareth was standing here, it was obvious who it was. "It was this afternoon. I told Ran'kiel he could play at the lake with Jiran until sunset. He should have been back hours ago, though."

"But you haven't seen him?" I jumped into this conversation, dread starting to fill my veins.

She nodded. "I haven't. I was hoping he had just checked in already and I couldn't find him. But he hasn't." Mareth then glanced at the doors. "I have to get out there."

Holding up an arm to stop her, I shook my head. "You aren't a fighter, Mareth. You would just put both of you in danger. Ran'kiel is smart. He'll know to stay hidden if he is surrounded, and Ran'kiel has gone through the safety simulators enough that he is allowed to be outside the embassy despite his age." Usually, we waited until a labac was fifty years old before allowing them to leave the embassy. However, Ran'kiel had always done well on the safety protocol training, so we allowed him special permission to leave the embassy when he visited. I then turned to Ulthan'zur. "Any other missing?"

He nodded. "About fifteen labac, twenty psiar, and four other registered visitors."

Since we had an approximate search list, it was time to leave. "Send the list of those missing to Sh'qtar so we can send out recovery teams and reinforcements. Garl," The labac focused on me as I addressed him. "Get your packages, and then go join Sh'qtar's teams. Once you discover Pandimala's location, contact me before joining the relief mission."

Garl gave a salute before he went back out the way he came. While I wished to join him, I knew the best place for me to be was here to relay information directly to my father and from him to the teams about to go out there. I sent a quick prayer to Murav for the safety of all those unaccounted for before I moved toward the central communication hub in the shelter. If I were to play my part, I had to be ready to receive and transmit any messages I may get.

Firebrand's 1st P.O.V.

It had been a cycle since the siege of monsters had started on the city, and the streets were in chaos. Everywhere I turned, I had to be on high alert. There had already been multiple creatures that had tried to swarm me. Thankfully, I kept a few blades in subspace. However, I was starting to tire. There were just so many creatures here that I was becoming overwhelmed. I was trying to make my way to the Eternia Embassy. There, I could recover outside their shelter and act as a last line of defense should the creatures break the embassy's defenses. However, from what I had seen, only the flying creatures, drillers, and some of the larger creatures like tyrexians would be able to do so.

And, of course, my path was also blocked by the odd mercenary, causing chaos on the streets. I had already dropped three of them and knew more were around. Hopefully, Seabreaker, Grinchain, and Lightbeam were doing better in their movements than I was. When sire sent the message that Pandimala was MIA, we had all split up and headed toward different embassies she might head toward. Seabreaker was heading to the Ethosian embassy, Grinchain was on his way to the Airlandian embassy, and Lightbeam was going to the Antiga Prime embassy. My goal was the Eternia embassy.

Screams around me caused me to come out of my thoughts as I watched a young dweller breach the ground and drain a mech that had been running not thirty meters away from me. I had to keep moving—no time to get lost in my thoughts. Reaching the Eternia embassy had to be my first task. And I had to make it. Either that, or I had to run into one of the reinforcement platoons that had to be out by now. If I ran into one of them, I could have support getting to the embassy before I helped them in their fight. When it came to the large creatures running about, fighting in strike teams was our best strategy.

Movement from my side barely gave me enough time to raise my blade. An instant later, said blade met with another as I found myself faceplate to faceplate with another mercenary. "Fresh energon," The mech laughed as he pressed against my blade. "I'm glad I took this mission."

The grounder's grin was disgusting as he pushed me back. He was enjoying the suffering that was happening around us. How could any being enjoy this needless loss of life? When I became Vestium Major's ruler, I would ensure that we never traded with Luxor. This alone showed how sparkless they were. To allow such carnage to spread on innocent beings just because they were paid a servo-full of credits was unforgivable. "You won't survive long enough to enjoy this," I snarled back at the mech as I finally found my footing.

He laughed as he danced away, blade prepared to strike at me. However, I knew better than to follow after a retreating bot. That would open me up to a counter-strike that I would be ill-prepared to block. "This coming from the great heir of Vestium Major who couldn't deal with a simple Decepticon threat?" Whoever had hired the mercenaries knew about the trouble with Pandimala and my involvement. "Offlining any Cybertronian is simple enough, yet you let a femme get the better of you. If I were you, I would feel embarrassed."

A flare of anger rose in my circuits at the implied insult. If she was a genuine threat to Vestium Major, I was sure I could rise to the occasion. However, flashes of my strike against the femme brought doubt into my processor. She had moved so precisely that she had been able to avoid most of the shots that had been fired at her. I should have been able to hit her, yet I hadn't been able to.

Pain flaring from my side brought me out of those thoughts as the mech struck at me. Thankfully, I had enough training to deflect most of his strike. Now that I was refocused, I saw what the mech was trying to do. He wanted to throw me off my guard, and I had almost let him succeed. As we traded blows, though, his wording came back to me. "You have experience offlining Cybertronians?"

Given that they had been at war for countless stellars, Cybertronians were masters of combat that most didn't want to meet as an enemy. That was regardless of their faction. Both Autobot and Decepticon fighters were terrifying to behold.

Decepticons just tended to take that view to the extreme.

The mech in front of me laughed. "Of course. When Megatron started his little uprising, I was right there in the Pits of Kaon with him. We even stayed at the same compound before I was sold off. Of course, the pile of rust never took notice of me. Megatron was so focused on his goals that he disregarded those that couldn't help him move forward at that click. But, he soon learned. I made sure of it." This mech was a Cybertronian? How did he end up with the mercenaries of Luxor? "I had the audios of great houses in the higher castes who respected my abilities. And when he tried to gain support for his revolution, I was right there, whispering into the audios of those who could affect change of the corruption that would follow Megatron's great ideals. Because of me, Numglow, the Council rejected his pitch. He wasn't a threat to them until I convinced them he was."

Wait, that didn't sound right. I had been taught enough about the beginning of the war to know that Megatron's thirst for violence caused him to be rejected by the Council. "He was rejected because of his violent solution to dismantle the caste system."

"Ha!" The newly identified Numglow laughed as we clashed blades again. "That's what the official records say, of course. The Council couldn't let why they rejected his pitch enter the public audios. There would have been waves of support from all castes joining him. That was especially true when so many triple-changers joined his ranks before the meeting. Even Orion, who would become Optimus Prime, was left out of the room until they rejected Megatron's proposal, and he started to threaten to tear them down. Gotta give it to that old Council; they could manipulate the masses with style."

We continued to clash blades for a few more nanos before I forced the mech to fall back. What I heard now explained much of what we saw with the Cybertronian Civil War. The sudden change in Megatron's outlook on the war was what he wanted from the start. And the anger he responded to Optimus Prime joining the Council seemed more reasonable now. To that point, his ally had been manipulated by the Council and would not listen to Megatron.

Pandimala needed to know this. She needed to see this. If we both survived the solar, I would ensure I allowed her to watch a patch of this conversation. I needed to keep him talking. If I could, I could get him to spill more. This was the start of my penance to Pandimala for what I did—all of it. Thinking of what he said, I realized that a small part didn't make sense. "Why would having triple changers on his side sway the masses of Cybertron?"

"You are clueless," Numglow laughed. "Back then, triple-changers were practically revered. Outside of the Prime, they were the highest-ranking bots in the caste system. Even the Prime would have to watch his step with them. Why do you think they were sent here for the training you bots offered? Cybertron could not risk the triple-changers rampaging against their way of existence. Vestium Major's failure to train Astrotrain and Octane hit the caste system hard. That was even more so when they joined Megatron's ranks along with Blitzwing. It was also why, despite the backlash that Council meeting had for Megatron, the Decepticons gained so many supporters in their early solars." He then paused and stared at me before he grinned. "But enough of your distractions. It's time for me to claim your helm. I'm sure the helm of the heir of Vestium Major will get me a large,"

I flinched back as, while the mech was talking, a dimorxian dove at the mech and started to tear at his neck cables. His screams filled the air as the giant techno-organic flier devoured him. Thanking Iussa that I was not in the creature's sights, I moved forward. Now, more than before, I needed to reach the embassy. The information the mech gave me would be important to Pandimala, and I needed to start my penance to her.

In the back of my processor, I knew I was partially at fault. I had caused dissension in my family, distracting us from the enemy rising against us. My focus on Pandimala as the enemy blinded me to the real threats surrounding Vestium Major and the Alliance.

A scream coming from my right caused me to stop in my tracks. There, about twenty meters ahead of me, I could see a young labac in a shelter of rubble. Surrounding him, though, were a group of ten fizgigs. For a labac as inexperienced as the young one seemed to be, they would devour him if they broke through his shelter. So, I pushed toward the young one. If I could reach him, I could cut down the creatures and help guide the labac to their embassy.

Snarls from my right were the only warning I got as a pack of pachyphels charged forward. While I was not a part of their diet, the techno-organic creatures habitually charged anything that moved. With their reinforced helms, enough hits from them could offline a bot. And the five coming at me could deal a lot of damage. While I was able to dodge most of them, the fifth one was able to clip my side, throwing me to the ground. When they turned back toward me, I resisted the urge to move. If I stayed still, they may be distracted by other movements and leave me in the clear to reach the labac.

The five creatures stopped and stared at me, seemingly trying to see where I had gone before their heads turned. Something else must have caught their attention. Any relief I felt vanished as the pachyphels charged the moving fizgigs and the young labac in turn. "No!" I yelled as I fought to run forward. But, the damage the pachyphel did to me and my previous damage hindered my movements.

No! I couldn't fail in this! I couldn't!

But even as I thought that, I felt helpless as the pachyphels charged forward. I couldn't reach him in time!

My optics widened as a figure ran from behind the labac's shelter, crushing most of the fizgigs as their blades cut through two pachyphels. "Don't move, Ran'kiel!" Pandimala shouted as she positioned herself above his shelter, crushing the remaining fizgigs as she did. By this point, the remaining pachyphels had turned and started to charge their location.

As each one entered her swords' range, she cut them down. There was no hesitation in her optics. As more creatures charged her position, the Decepticon did not hesitate. Her pedes moved around the labac's shelter as she defended his position. In the firelight surrounding us, I saw the strength Pandimala had. However, instead of seeing a monster, as I had before, I saw a warrior. Nothing was going to get by her. Blood and energon rained from her blades as she cut down the remaining creatures who charged her location.

With the current threats gone, I stood and moved toward the femme as she took a tarp from her subspace. Where had she gotten that? "Pandimala, we've been looking for you," I spoke as she wrapped the tarp around the labac and his war beast.

"I figured," She responded as she picked up the labac and held him out to me. "Get him to the Eternia Embassy. The way behind me should be clear for a few clicks, giving you enough time to get Ran'kiel here to safety. I was going to the embassy when I picked up your signal. So, I bypassed it to give you some backup."

"Thank you," I thanked the femme before remembering the mech I fought. "Pandimala, I need to show you a patch once this is over."

She nodded as I took the labac. "I will make sure I see it. For now, get Ran'kiel to the embassy and make sure he stays wrapped in that. I picked it up to help any organics during this fight. With how injured we are, our energon could hurt them while we are trying to help them." I hadn't even thought about the dangers of energon interacting with organics. How did Pandimala keep such a calm helm during this? "I'm heading to Caribate Square. From what King Poiman's troops told me when I ran into them, a hive link creature controls the rest of these creatures. I'm going to see if I can help slow it down."

While I wanted Pandimala to join me, I knew trying to suggest that to the Decepticon was pointless. From what we had seen, once the femme set her processor to something, we could do little to dissuade her. Grinchain had told me about her first meeting with Iussa and how she dealt with it despite his nervousness. So, I nodded. "Try not to get yourself offlined. It will make sire look bad if his guest offlines during this."

In return, Pandimala smirked. "I'll try my best," she said before she ran toward the square.

Once she was out of sight, I started to make my way to the Eternia Embassy. As I moved, I got on my comm and added my siblings and creators. "I just met with Pandimala. She is headed toward Caribate Square. I'm escorting a young labac to the Eternia Embassy. I'll check in again once I arrive."

As the affirmations started coming in from my family, the young labac in my arms spoke up. "Is she going to be alright?"

While I was unsure of the answer, I had to make sure to ease the young labac's mind. "If anybot can thrash whatever controls these creatures, it will be that Decepticon. Now, let's get you back to your embassy."

Even though those words left my vocals, I felt worried as I moved forward. She had plenty of injuries on her chassis, and I was sure she would gather more. Given my current mission, she needed backup that I couldn't give her. All I could do for her now was pray to Iussa to protect Pandimala in the fight ahead of her.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

My intake struggled to steady themselves as I moved from fight to fight. All of these creatures were slowing me down. At first, I had focused on reaching an embassy to inform them of my status. While I wanted to use my comms to call them, the first creature that attacked me, a techno-organic flying dinosaur Poiman's troops identified as a dimorxian, surprised me. In that surprise attack, it was able to knock out my comms.

I was sure that I was fated to keep damaging that fragging thing.

However, when I was close to the Eternia Embassy, I picked up Firebrand's signal and figured it would be best to support the heir. When I came up on the mech trying to save Ran'kiel, my chassis moved on its own as I tore down the creatures threatening them. Once the area was cleared, I realized I could have Firebrand report my status while I followed up on a rumor Poiman's troops picked up on. If a hive mind was driving all these creatures, cutting that control out should cause the rest of the creatures to become easy pickings.

As I drew closer to the square, the number of creatures defending the area increased. Whatever this creature was, it had to know that we were hunting it. Sheer numbers were its only defense stopping us from reaching the square. Already, I had to fend off a young dweller and two young drillers. Thankfully, the rules for transporting creatures through Facit, where they had to come from, made it clear that creatures like drillers, tyrexians, and dwellers had to be young to be allowed into the city.

And given the size of their adult forms, they weren't being smuggled in.

So, while I had to mind my step as I moved, fighting the ambushes I would face from these creatures was easier than it might have been. Still, I would struggle if I didn't get to the square soon. While I had been able to defeat the creatures that attacked me, I hadn't left some of those fights without injuries. None were critical yet; however, I had to be careful.

A deep roar sounding through the air caused a click of fear to run through my systems. Instincts I never had before my transformation screamed at me to fall back. Whatever was ahead, it was made to hunt me. And since I had not felt the same feeling from the dwellers, drillers, and tyrexians I already faced, I knew that whatever was ahead of me was a greater threat than they were.

The sound of a lighter roar caused me to stand on guard as a young tyrexian charged my location. Despite being young, the creature stood twice my height. As it charged me, I braced myself. While the creature was taller than me, I knew I was smarter than it. So, with a simple motion, I sidestepped the creature's strike before I stabbed it in the side. Despite the creature's pain, it kept charging forward, its instincts to run taking over. However, all it did was cause the beast to die faster. I spared the tyrexian's fallen body a glance before I continued forward.

This was getting tedious. If I kept getting attacked by these creatures, I would arrive at the square too late. Somehow, I needed the hive mind to let me through. But how? Without knowing what kind of creatures I was dealing with, I couldn't know how likely it would be to understand me. Plus, most of the creatures that had been let loose would be challenging to contain while I tried to communicate with the lead mind.

"Pandimala down!"

I immediately dropped to the ground as I heard Sandstorm's vocals call out. A nano later, a shot traveled above me, striking a young dimorxian out of the sky. Once it hit the ground, I didn't hesitate to stand and drive my blade through its neck. As I removed my blade, I turned to Sandstorm, who stopped beside me. "Thanks for that."

The mech nodded before we both moved forward. "I was on my way to the square when Lord Dawnbreaker contacted me with your location. Figured you could use an extra set of optics."

"I appreciate it," I responded as we continued to move forward. "Have you heard anything about what creature is in the square?"

While I felt relief when he nodded, that relief started to wane as I registered the concerned look on the triple-changer's faceplate. "A few of our soldiers are in the square and are reporting that it is a razorhowler."

I was confused, even though I heard the dread in his vocals as he identified the creature. What the frag was a razorhowler? "A razorhowler? What is that?"

He glanced at me with an incredulous look on his faceplate for a few nanos before he must have realized why I was confused. "I still forget that you might not know about lessons we learn at a young age." The air around us seemed to grow heavy as Sandstorm continued. "Razorhowlers were once simple creatures. They were hive-minded but unable to carry any drive toward destruction. That was until Cybertron's Council got their servos on them. They saw the potential for destruction that the creatures carried and drove the creatures to become energon-thirsty. Perfect creatures of destruction for their gladiatorial pit fights. One of the few ever defeated in Pits was by your Lord Megatron to earn his advancement into the higher castes."

As Sandstorm said that, my processor flashed back to the show when Ratchet was telling his version of Lord Megatron's rise. My Lord, standing upon the fallen body of a gigantic creature with spikes adorning its body. That was what I was currently heading toward. "I didn't know the creature's name, but I know what you speak of," I interrupted the mech before he could continue. "Do we know how developed the creature is?" Hopefully, given the size of the one I remembered from the show, this one would have also been limited.

"Thankfully, the reports I have been getting say that it is young," Sandstorm answered, much to my relief. "However, despite that, it still is quite large. It must have been right at the size limit." Slag.

Despite the deterrent of its apparent size, I might be able to use its youth against it. "Do you think I could communicate with it through one of the creatures it's controlling?"

Sandstorm glanced around at my question before he primed his blaster. "Only one way to find out," Then, without hesitation, he fired at a charging pachyphel. The shot hit the creature's leg, causing the pachyphel to collapse.

While the juvenile tried to stand, I quickly closed the distance between myself and the creature before grabbing and lifting it. Once its eyes were level with my optics, I issued my challenge: "Fight us if you dare." I then snapped the creature's neck.

Given the razorhowler's reported youth, I hoped to stoke any competitive edge it may have. Many creatures I knew from Earth would attack any perceived threat to their dominance. Right now, I was banking on the creature having the same reaction. "More incoming," I braced myself as Sandstorm called that out. Focusing in front of us, I steadied my blades as more pachyphels charged forward.

However, when they reached half the distance from us, the herd suddenly veered and charged away. "Guess the razorhowler didn't like my challenge," I commented as we moved forward.

"Apparently," Sandstorm agreed. "Let's keep moving forward. If you're right, we should reach the square soon."

As the two of us continued to move forward, I felt a heavy pressure in the air. The closer we moved the square, the stronger the pressure became. The razorhowler was preparing for us. While we were enjoying a calm approach to the square, I knew that, once we arrived, all Pit would break loose. The increasing smell of burning metal, flesh, and ammunition spoke of that. Nervousness crept into the bottom of my tanks as I continued forward. While I had been able to take on many of the creatures and mercenaries I had come across so far, I knew that the razorhowler would be an even more challenging opponent.

Even though this was a young one, it was still the same kind of creature that Lord Megatron had to fight to win his way out of the Pits of Kaon. The corrupt bots back then would not have made that fight easy. Honestly, they would have tried to sabotage it as much as they could get away with. Fighting the caste system, any enemies my Lord had back then would have used the fight to take him out. So, not only did my Lord defeat a creature trained to kill us, but he also defeated his opponents.

In comparison, taking out this juvenile would be easy.

…Easy, right. I was kidding myself.

I focused as we stepped into the square. Dead bodies and offline chassis were spread across the archways and pillars in a way that made it look like macabre garlands were decorating the creature's home. Energon and blood mixed as it dripped down around us. My tanks almost wanted to empty at the sight.

However, I couldn't afford that weakness now. Not with the creature staring at me from across the square. The creature was easily four times my height and triple that in weight. From how it moved, I wouldn't have to worry about blitzes. Two large main eyes focused on me as the eight smaller ones moved randomly. If I had to guess, it was watching the destruction it was causing through the hive link it had made with the rest of these creatures.

As I stared into its main eyes, I felt a shiver travel down my backplates. Instincts I never had before told me that this thing was crafted to hunt us. To hunt me. Even though I had plenty of difficult battles before this, I knew this would be my most challenging one yet. If I was to return to my Lord, I would have to push past all of my limits to destroy this creature. "So, you aren't a coward, at least," I called to the creature as I drew out both blades. "For me to return to my Lord, you must die. So lie down like a good little glitch and die quickly."

I had to resist the urge to cover my audios as the razorhowler let out an immortal screech before it started to charge forward.

While it was by no means fast, it was moving much faster than I thought it would be. Raising my blades toward it, I let out my battle cry before charging forward.

Scorchflint's 1st P.O.V.

I let out a vent as I cut down another creature. Here in the square, it was hard enough to keep the blasted things contained, let alone try and watch the fight going on in the center. I wasn't sure if she was a genius or just plain crazy, but according to Sandstorm, the femme had outright challenged the fragging razorhowler to fight her. Surprisingly, the thing listened. But, of course, given the history of the creatures with Cybertron, it might have had some deep-rooted hatred toward any that looked like us. And given that Pandimala challenged the creature directly, it wouldn't have let that challenge go unanswered.

And, while the femme was being kept on the tip of her pedes, the few glances I got at the fight told me she could damage said monster. Risking another glance at the fight, I couldn't help but marvel at the way the femme moved about the field. Bots as large as she was should not be able to move that fluidly and agilely as she was. Despite knowing her history, it was still incredible that the Decepticons could keep her out of any reports and away from the Autobots on the planet.

"Sir," I glanced at Bastof as he stopped beside me. From how his intakes were backfiring, he had taken more damage internally than he looked. "The numbers are starting to decrease."

Glancing around, I noted that he was right. The number of creatures our squad had come upon here in the square had seemed to stretch on forever. I was sure I would lose my spark here among the monsters. However, we had held on as more of the guard had joined us along with squads from other embassies. With all that power, we had entered an impasse with the fighting. At that point, I had been pretty content with the pace of the fighting. Worst-case scenario, we would have to outlast them as we slowly took out their numbers.

And then Sandstorm and Pandimala arrived.

I had noticed a slight change before their arrival but hadn't thought much of it—just the juvenile razorhowler getting distracted by the different creatures it was controlling. But when the creatures suddenly cleared a space for Sandstorm and Pandimala to walk through, I realized that one of them must have challenged the creature, and the creature must have accepted the challenge.

I had known Sandstorm for almost our entire existences and knew that he wouldn't have done that, so that had left Pandimala.

That guess was proven correct as the femme had charged the razorhowler, which had made its way toward her, and the fighting in the square intensified.

Now that time had passed since their duel began, I realized Bastof was correct. As Pandimala and the creature continued to fight, the creatures seemed to dwindle in numbers. Not only that, as I cut down a pachyphel that tried to charge, I realized that they were becoming less focused than they had been before.

"Pandimala's doing better than she looks like she is," I agreed with his statement before diverting another pachyphel away.

Bastof took down a dimorxian before he responded. "Sir, when we clear the square, should we,"

A pained roar from the creature caused me to look toward the razorhowler. There was a large gash starting behind its right eye and traveling down and across its body. Pandimala was already moving to the side as the creature tried to move around and get another hit on her. But that injury must have slowed it down more than expected as Pandimala danced out of its range.

In an instant after that, Pandimala turned away from me and tried to move her blades up. Before I could even register what was happening, a large pachyphel slammed into her crossed swords, pushing her back. This was the first time the razorhowler had used another creature in their fight. The large pachyphel pushed Pandimala back for a few nanos before a large snapping sound filled the air. My spark felt like it had stopped as Pandimala's blades shattered, and she was thrown back, skidding across the ground for a few nanos before she stopped.

Instincts kicked in as I moved forward, blade at the ready, and charged the pachyphel. It took me about ten steps to intercept the creature and take a swing at its neck. Thankfully, the razorhowler had it focused on Pandimala, so it could do nothing as I removed its head. After a glance at said razorhowler, to make sure it wouldn't charge me, I turned and ran to where Pandimala was lying.

"Bastof, let me know if that thing starts coming over here!" I yelled at the mech as I knelt by the femme. "Pandimala, are you alright?" There was no vocal response from her, though her optics moving told me that she was still online. The hit from the pachyphel might have been just unexpected enough to send her into shock. "Pandimala, we need you to focus!" I yelled at her before flicking her on the helm.

Her optics immediately focused on me as she seemed to come to herself. "That fragging thing," Her intakes were misfiring as she spoke. While I would generally force troops off the field at this point, I knew that Pandimala wouldn't listen. Not until the razorhowler was taken care of. And we didn't have the troops to spare to attack the thing like she was doing. "That fragging thing cheated," I shivered at the acidity in her vocals. The femme then sat up before she looked at the broken blades in her servos. "And it cheating took out my weapons."

I could hear the defeat in her vocals, and she had every right to sound so. It was still strange to think of a Decepticon with so few weapons. I thought Physis had been lying when her scans returned to say she only had her two swords. It was so minimalist that he had to miss something. But every other scan she had taken since then showed the same thing; without her t-cog in operation, that was all she had.

And now she was defenseless against the creature we needed her to take down.

Glancing at my servo, I considered letting her borrow my sword. But it was much shorter than the ones she had, and I wasn't sure if she could fight with it well enough to win. Shaking my helm, I looked at her. "If you can use it," I started to ask as I held out the hilt of my sword.

"Don't bother," she interrupted me before coughing for a few nanos. "I tried using Dreadwing's once. It was not a good experience." Her intakes stuttered a little. "I wouldn't be able to use that against a pachyphel, let alone against that thing." She ended with a glare toward the creature.

"Good thing I got here in time, then." We both turned to see Garl walking up to us. Over his shoulder were two very large packages.

"They're done?" Pandimala asked, hope back in her vocals.

The labac nodded before he sat down the packages next to her. "Got them done this morning. I was going to try and get them to you before the banquet, but I had some other business that came up." He then let out a laugh. "Better late than never."

By this point, Pandimala had stood back on her pedes and had unwrapped the hilts of what I assumed were replacement blades. As she pulled the blades free from their bindings, my optics widened as I studied the blades. Garl must have spent a lot of time getting those just right. The craftsmanship on them alone would typically be worth millions of credits. As electricity started dancing across the blades, I knew they were made specifically for Pandimala. Her new blades seemed to dance as she test-swung each of them. "They're perfect, Garl," Pandimala agreed as she turned to look at the razorhowler. "Do me a favor, you two," she said, letting out another cough. I felt worried as I saw energon in the corner of her mouth. "Don't let anything else get between me and that thing for five more clicks." She then smirked, a dark gleam coming to her optics. "This will be over soon.'' Then, with speed I didn't think she had left, Pandimala launched toward the razorhowler.

Garl took his blade off his back. "I'll take her left if you have her right."

I nodded at him and gripped my blade tighter before I rejoined the fight. And a fight it was. As I heard the razorhowler's cries of pain, more creatures flooded the square. It was taking every iota of focus I had to keep the creatures away from Pandimala. The razorhowler had to know that it was losing and was trying to get anything through. However, despite the numbers it was trying to send through, more and more reinforcements were arriving in the square. Beings of all kinds were joining the fight here, keeping the creatures at bay as Pandimala fought the razorhowler.

A long roar from the creature caused the creatures around the square to pause and scatter. With the threat away from me, I took the risk to look toward Pandimala. There she was, hanging off the creature's face by her blades. Said blades were embedded into the creature's skull, electricity flowing from them to the razorhowler's brain. The creature reared up on its hind legs momentarily before it charged forward, Pandimala clinging to her blades to keep her in place.

I winced as the razorhowler crashed into the storefront at the far side of the square. But, as much as I wanted to go and check on Pandimala, I needed the dust to settle first. If the creature were still alive, it would be too dangerous to get near them right now, both for me and for Pandimala. It took a few clicks, but finally, the view of the creature became clear as the dust settled. Deep gashes adorned its body as it lay there, still and lifeless.

With that visual confirmation, I didn't hesitate to run forward, climbing over the creature's corpse to get to its helm. Since Pandimala had yet to make herself known, she might be unable to get out of there. Before that final strike against the razorhowler, Pandimala's health had already looked bad. With the hits she had to take at that last charge, plus any hits it landed on her before that, Pandimala might not even be conscious.

Once I reached the front of the creature, I frantically scanned the store, a flickering light my only help in that endeavor, until I finally saw her. "I need a medic at my location now!" I yelled into my comm as I ran to her side. The femme was still conscious by some miracle, though it looked like she was barely that. "Pandimala, can you hear me?" I asked the femme as I knelt next to her.

Her helm struggled to straighten itself as she glanced at me. "Is it…Is it dead?" Of course, she wanted confirmation.

So, I nodded. "As dead as it can be. You did good work, femme."

Pandimala let out a chuckle at that, though each outtake sounded strained. "About slagging time. That thing," She interrupted herself with a cough. "Didn't want to go down easy. Fragger."

It was difficult not to roll my optics as she responded like that—a typical Pandimala response: "Only you would be mad at the creature that normally takes a squad to take down because it wouldn't fall to you fast enough."

A laugh escaped me as she looked indignant at that. "I did enough," More coughs. "Damage to the slagging thing to drop three of them. It tried to take me with it, though."

I placed a servo against her shoulder as she tried to sit up. "Nope. You stay down there until you get looked at."

While a groan that sounded too annoyed slipped from her vocals, Pandimala didn't fight me and laid back down. "Physis is going to offline me."

"Probably," I agreed with her. He had just finished fixing what he could and was waiting for her t-cog and wings to heal. He would be furious at the amount of damage she accrued this solar. "I'm glad I'm not you." It was best for now to keep her talking until a medic could start looking at her.

Her optics were offline, but she still answered me. "If I act unconscious, he might not yell at me so much." She went into a series of coughs at that.

I shook my helm at her useless optimism. Physis was going to tear her apart. "You keep dreaming, femme."

A defeated groan escaped her vocals as the medics finally reached us. Not one of ours, but I recognized Gatringle from Eskabar and Dezzin from Airlandia. "We'll take her until Physis gets here. He was making his way here. I'd say he was five clicks behind us," Dezzin explained as the two started working on the femme.

Since she was in good servos, I stood and moved away to avoid being in the way. The medics would have a lot of work to get Pandimala stable enough to move to one of the medical tents already being set up. She had done more than enough for the fight. It was our turn now.

Chapter Text

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

"This is a bunch of slag!" I growled as I glared at Bastof.

The mech looked unimpressed as he stood in the middle of the hall, arms folded and giving me a knowing look. "You know, I feel like we've had this conversation before."

I rolled my optics at the mech. "Maybe we wouldn't be doing this if you weren't being such a stickler."

His frown deepened as he motioned down the hall to where Pandimala's medical room was. "I've got direct orders from Physis. Nobot or being in or out of here outside of Physis and Zipple. He isn't even letting your sire and the other leaders down here. Trust me," He let out a tired vent. "They've all been trying. King Poiman tried to bite me to get through. Needless to say, his guards had to pull him away with apologies." He then focused back on me. "So there is no way that I am letting you through, no matter how much you ask."

While I wanted to continue arguing, I knew I wasn't getting through. Not after Bastof admitted that. It seemed every being wanted to check in on the femme. "I guess I can try to come back when sire says I can."

"So you can teach stubborn bots new tricks." I scowled at him as he laughed. "Now get out of here. I know all training has been canceled officially, but I've heard some bots are working independently. Why don't you see if you can join them? Unless you want to join the hunting parties?"

Well, that would give me something to do, at least. Plus, while I wasn't big on training, I had already spent all of last solar at Teklan Hall. And, while joining the hunting parties sounded a little too stressful, doing some training didn't sound so bad. "I guess I'll go to the training areas and see who's there."

With a wave, I moved away from the mech and started to make my way. As I walked, though, I thought about everything that had happened. It was no surprise, but no being took responsibility for hiring the mercenaries or releasing all those creatures. Sire and the other major leaders were meeting to determine the best way to investigate everything. Preliminary investigations had started, but there were some hurdles that were making them difficult.

New Quintessa's allies staunchly refused to allow cortical patches without New Quintessa's express approval and oversight. Since the planet was being unusually difficult to reach, we were at our wits' end with them. We couldn't hold their representatives for long or risk an inter-Alliance war. Without concrete proof that they were involved, we had to let them go.

Sire was not happy.

However, Empress Ladania pointed out that their refusal to cooperate would be another strike against them. They would eventually back themselves into a corner they couldn't squirm their way out of. As New Quintessa caused more and more issues, I was starting to see why the Cybertronians held such hatred for them. From what Ambassador Goldust told Emperor Thav, King Caprigo was extremely close to declaring embargos, at the least, against New Quintessa's allies. New Quintessa's reluctance to cooperate with the investigations didn't help their case either.

I tensed as I saw the creatures' remains that were still visible. It had only been a solar since the main attack had dropped to the point where there weren't creatures hunting in the streets. As Bastof mentioned, hunting parties were going after the remaining stragglers. The one good thing about the attack was that we had a detailed list of all the creatures at Facit. A few dozen were cautiously added in case more were smuggled into the city for the attack.

Feeling like this at home felt wrong. I shouldn't be nervous just walking down the street. But, that was existence now. Until we got all the creatures off the confirmed list, I would have to be alert as I walked down the street. Thankfully, the creatures were young, so most of them would end up dying from a lack of food. However, I knew there were enough creatures still missing that would not hesitate to eat the corpses that were still around and that were very efficient in hunting.

"Hey, Grinchain, wait up!" I jumped slightly and turned to see Skylark running up to me. "I was calling for you for clicks."

"Sorry about that." So much for being on alert. "I guess I just lost focus."

"It was more like you were hyper-focused," she laughed as she joined me on my walk. "And I don't blame you. The creatures that are still out are putting every being on edge."

"That's true," I agreed. "Many embassies advise non-essential personnel to return to their home planets until we can get the numbers down." Of course, just because they were advising that didn't mean that beings were listening to that advice. Many beings refused to leave precisely because of the creatures.

"And most are staying here. They are a little safer since they caught the last driller on the list earlier." I hadn't heard about that yet. I guess she had more contacts in the hunting parties. "I've got a friend on one of the teams who told me about it about a cycle ago. It caused a real mess on the outskirts of the city, but they were finally able to put it down. Now, the only large creatures left on the lists are two tyrexians and three dimorxians that have gone into hiding."

A shiver traveled down my back as I thought of other unaccounted-for creatures. "Not to mention the two hundred scraplets and fizgigs still scuttling about."

That caused Skylark to shiver visibly. "Don't remind me of those. I guess a hunting party ran into a pack of twenty scraplets, and some arrogant wannabe tried to charge them. Mech should be thrilled he only lost an arm and a leg. They could have done a slag-ton more damage to him before his teammates could freeze them."

And that was another thing that we were indebted to Pandimala for. As Skylark wandered off, I allowed my thoughts to focus on that. Thanks to her knowledge, we learned about the weakness scraplets had to the cold. Each hunting party had to have at least two bots with some sort of freezing capability to take care of the scraplets faster. Our scientists also debated whether extreme heat would cause similar reactions in the creatures. However, fire mods weren't as common as ice mods, so that theory was being tested limitedly for now. Firebrand offered to use his to help them test once his and Seabreaker's punishment was done.

Of course, given the damage that Pandimala was reported to have, he wouldn't be able to use it for a little longer yet. While I didn't know everything, I got Gatringle to give me the little information he could about her condition. She wasn't as bad off as when she first came here, but she had extensive damage to many of her systems. The razorhowler had not gone down without tearing her up. Her protoform had been exposed in many different sections of her chassis, yet she had been joking with the medics.

"Grinchain!" I glanced up and saw Lightbeam running up to me, Coyode behind her. Once she reached me, she stopped and caught her intakes. "I've been looking for you. Skylark said that you would be heading this way."

"What's going on?" I asked, feeling confused. I had just left the palace twenty clicks ago. What had happened?

She grabbed my servo and started to pull me toward the palace. "Sire has called a meeting with us and his subordinate leaders. Physis just sent a report to sire saying that Pandimala should wake this solar, so sire wants us to be ready for what might happen."

As Lightbeam continued pulling me with her, my processor kept trying to catch up with what was happening. I mean, I knew Pandimala wouldn't be out long, given how quickly she woke up after her arrival here, but on the second solar? That was a lot faster than I thought it would be. Sire was probably thinking the same and panicking. He had talked about how to reward Pandimala's efforts during the attack with Emperor Thav and Lord Oryax, but nothing had been settled.

This had to end perfectly for sire. Given everything we had gone through since Pandimala's arrival and everything she had gone through, sire was one misstep away from turning the Alliance against him. That was especially true with all of the allies that Pandimala had garnered during her stay. From what I had seen, I was sure King Poiman would take his subordinate planets and ally with the Decepticons should the Alliance upset Pandimala without cause. While I knew sire wouldn't even think about hurting her, we still had to be cautious.

With that in processor, I picked up my pace. The faster we met with sire and his allies, the more prepared we would be for what was to come.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"I know you are awake."

My spark raced slightly as the voice echoed in my helm. That was, however, until I realized who that voice belonged to. So, instead of waking in a panic, I slowly onlined my optics and found myself staring into familiar yellow optics. "Hey, doc," I responded, though I felt a strain on my vocals as I spoke. "Could use some energon."

"Low grade for now," Physis agreed as he helped me sit up before bringing out said cube from his subspace. As I drank the energon, thankfully relieving the pain in my vocals, Physis kept speaking. "You know, I think I would enjoy not having most of your basic stats memorized, femme. I didn't even need to guess the dose of anesthesia for you. I can't even do that for Dawnbreaker's creations, but hells, I can do it for you without hesitation."

I smirked at that. "I knew you liked me, doc."

He shook his helm before pulling out a data pad and sitting on the berth across from me. "As usual, you're lucky to even be awake right now. At least this time isn't as bad as your first time seeing me."

"See, improvement!" I teased him.

That, of course, caused the mech to send a light glare my way. "You aren't as funny as you think you are." He then tapped on the datapad, causing me to focus on him more. "Your recovery has been pushed back some due to your recent injuries. You'll be able to travel in about eight solars."

My optic ridges flew up in surprise. "Pushed back? I thought you said at least thirty solars Physis?"

A vent escaped him before he shook his helm. "Femme, I think you have selective thinking. I said travel, not fly. Your t-cog and wings took damage from the razorhowler, and I will have to push my release of them back another twenty solars."

Another twenty?! "Another twenty? Doc, you already said I had thirty before this, and now you are adding twenty more?"

"And who decided that facing a razorhowler alone was the smartest and only choice?" I flinched when Physis yelled that. "You might have some unnatural healing ability, but you aren't immortal! You can fragging offline! You have!" He stood up and started to pace in front of the med berth. "Any other fragging bot would still be restricted to med berth after the first injuries that caused you to stay here! Let alone be well enough to fight a fragging razorhowler and get torn to shreds! When I saw you there while Gatringle and Dezzin tried to stabilize you, I thought you were offline." He then let out a pained laugh as he leaned against the berth, a servo against his helm. "And then I heard you messing around with them while you had gashes torn in your chassis. Gashes so deep that your protoform was visible and damaged as well. And then you did the fragging same to me once I took over. Any other bot would have had to be sedated if they were in half of your condition and you were treating it like any other checkup."

My spark twisted in pain as the medic's intakes strained, trying to cool his circuits down. I was just upset at the time I was losing. But I knew that they were doing their best. He was doing his best. I also knew I wasn't the easiest patient to deal with. "Physis, I'm sorry. I,"

"No," I paused as he interrupted me as he sat back down, his intakes still racing. "I'm sorry. I know you're upset. I just…You're my friend, femme, and seeing you like that and then to be here with you upset at not being able to go home as fast as you want…I'm not used to regulating my emotions like that. To be fighting to save your spark just to turn around a couple of solars later to be arguing with you about when you can have your wings back." He then leaned back and let out a laugh. "It's just so…different."

I shouldn't have gotten upset with him. He couldn't prevent me from fighting and making my recovery worse. Guilt crept into my spark as I looked across at him. I had to make this right. So, I stood and moved to sit next to him on the med berth. "Physis, I'm sorry for getting upset. You're right. You are my friend, and while I'm here, you are also my medic. Balancing those two things isn't easy. When I first turned, Hook and Knockout would feel guilty when they would yell at me, even when I knew they were right. Of course, I didn't realize it until I was forced away from them." I let out a little laugh and leaned on the mech slightly. "I know I'm a stubborn femme."

"Understatement of the millennium."

He laughed as I threw him a light glare at that. "Anyways, like I said, I know I'm stubborn, and that just shows that you are a fragging good medic. Medics are some of the few bots willing to tell me to sit down and shut up. And sometimes I need that," I then smirked. "Sometimes."

Physis shook his helm at that. "Most times, if we are being honest." We both chuckled at that before he pulled back out his datapad. "Back to business, however. You need to take it easy, and I mean it, femme. No heavy training for at least four solars, and I will clear you before doing any training. None for the next two solars, at least. No other medic gets to make the call."

Well, that was fair. Plus, I honestly wouldn't risk making Physis that mad at me. Medics were not bots to be trifled with. I would only get on one's bad side if Lord Megatron ordered me to. Until then, no way. Nope. They had too much power for me to get upset by myself. "Deal doc." I then realized nothing had been said about any leaders wanting to meet. "Physis, are there any meetings I should be mentally prepping for?"

"Plenty," the medic huffed as I moved back to my berth to lay down. I figured I should get comfortable for a nano. "Lord Dawnbreaker is awaiting your recovery to present you with an award for services rendered to Vetium Major," Slag. I hated award ceremonies when I was human and knew I wouldn't like this one. "But, if you wouldn't mind, I'd give the mech a few solars to figure things out. He has to make sure to reward you well enough not to anger the other allies you've made in the Alliance."

At least I could buy some time to prepare mentally for it. "Then I'll use some recovery solars. We can say I'll be well enough to walk about but not stand for any recognition ceremony."

"From how you were moving over here earlier, you won't be doing any moving around until tomorrow anyways," Physis added as he started more scans. "King Poiman will want to come and see you. He almost bit Bastof when the mech refused him access to visit you earlier." It took restraint not to faceplate palm at that. Frag it, Poiman; I didn't need any more trouble. "Emperor Thav has had to be told to leave as well, so you should also allow him to see you sooner rather than later. Empress Ladania sent a message saying that she can wait to see you until you can move about, but she would like a meeting."

Thinking of the Empress and her subordinates made me realize I also had another meeting. "Plus, I promised Lord Trizan to spend some time with him in recompense for ditching him at the banquet." Wait, the banquet! I hadn't heard how that went. "Can you tell me anything about the banquet Physis? Were there any major problems?"

Physis laughed at that for a nano. "None that you didn't fix with your self-dismissal. It seemed like Ambassador Narcus of Tixlara snuck into the banquet even though he sent back a negative RSVP, and Lord Pitsnare of Rotan tried to put Lord Dawnbreaker in an unwinnable situation by insisting that Narcus had RSVP'd. When Dawnbreaker insisted that he hadn't, Pitsnare had the nerve to imply that he doubted Dawnbreaker's claims. He said, and I quote, 'Given how your last 'missed communication' went, I find myself doubtful of your claims.'"

Anger welled up in my spark as I heard the words repeated. How dare that piece of slag try and use my situation like that! "That slagger better hope I don't get my servos on him. He had no right to use my situation like that against Lord Dawnbreaker. That was especially since I have forgiven Lord Dawnbreaker for what happened then, and he is repaying me for that." If I weren't recovering, I would be going down to the Rotanian Embassy and giving that exploitative piece of scraplet-waste a communication he wouldn't have any communication issues with.

"You will do nothing against the Rotanians," I glared at Physis as he rebuked me. I hadn't even said that last part out loud. He didn't know what I was thinking. "If you do, you will extend your stay here much longer than you want, and you have been delayed long enough in returning to your Lord."

I flinched as Physis said that. I had been so ready to take revenge against Rotan that I had briefly forgotten my desire to return home. I needed to get to Pyrovar. I was already delayed in my return and could not afford to waste more time. It had been over sixty solars since I left Cybertron, and I was ready to return home as soon as possible. "Fine," I huffed as I laid back. Thoughts of my return filled my processor as I waited for Physis to enter my scans into the console. There was so much that I had experienced since I left Lord Megatron's side. A patch was going to be mandatory for me to get through everything.

Speaking of patches, I remembered Firebrand wanting to show me a memory. Since he had felt the need to bring it up during the attack, I realized it needed to be first on my list.

The sound of the console beeping caused me to sit back up as Physis transferred the data onto the datapad in his servo. "Seems like you are recovering nicely. I'd say you can move about by next solar. Any meetings you may need will be held here in the palace. The embassies are too far away for your recovery right now. Maybe the solar after if your scans show enough improvement." He then glanced up at me. "Any questions?"

I nodded. "One that might lead into a second and possibly more work for you," I admitted. The mech looked hesitant but motioned for me to speak. "Am I well enough right now to participate in a patch?"

"You going into the processor or somebot going into yours?" Physis immediately asked as he looked back down at his datapad.

"Me into theirs," I answered honestly.

After a few clicks of scrolling and studying the datapad, the mech nodded. "You should be well enough if, after it is finished, you take at least a two cycle power down." He then turned off the datapad and crossed his arms. "But who do you want to look into?"

"When I found Firebrand during the fighting, he requested that he show me a memory once the fighting was over. If you could, would you have him summoned and perform the patch for us?" I answered the mech.

He looked shocked at my request for a nano before I assumed he sent the message to Lord Dawnbreaker asking for permission. After a nano, the mech looked at me. "You know, back when you first asked for the guide program, I thought you were on a one-way street to disappointment." He then smiled. "I'm glad you proved me wrong. Firebrand already requested the patch, and his sire approved once you were ready. Firebrand will be here in about ten clicks."

I nodded and relaxed on the berth I was on. Whatever information Firebrand thought was so important to share that he would risk asking me to see it during that fighting had to be critical. Once he got here, I would see what had the mech so concerned. Until then, I would enjoy recovering and not dealing with political drama.

Seabreakers' 1st P.O.V.

My systems felt tense as we waited. The guests for this presentation were crowded down the room, waiting for the presentation to begin. After everything that Pandimala had done for us and the Galactic Alliance, the leaders of each main member planet who were here were on the dias waiting for the presentation to begin. While I, thankfully, was not up there with sire, I was next to the stage with the rest of my family and the families of the main leaders. On the other side of the aisle were the leaders of the subordinate planets, or their ambassadors if they were not present, and their families. In the balconies above sat Iussa, Electel, and their appointed guards. Any being who was any being was here.

"You look nervous," I glanced at Firebrand, who looked no better than I did. "We need to stay composed during this. You know that."

I shot a light glare at the mech. "Hate to break it to you, Firebrand, but you aren't that much more composed than me right now."

He stayed quiet for a few nanos before a light vent escaped him. "I know. But I was hoping that telling you would help me relax. I had my helm up my aft for so long that I still feel one misstep from causing trouble."

"You can say that again," I teased him, which caused Firebrand to shoot me a light glare. "But trust me, the only bot you would have had to worry about is Pandimala, and she already forgave you. So you'll be fine." I then let out a quiet laugh. "And do you see any of those leaders trying to get on her bad side if they can help it?"

Firebrand seemed to think about that for a nano before he relaxed. Good. While it wouldn't look good if I were nervous, it especially wouldn't if he was. Being sire's heir put a lot more stress on the mech, and there were some solars that I was relieved that I wasn't in his spot. But then, I would think about my place in succession and remember that I would have to take over for him if something happened to him. So, his safety, both physical and political, should be my number one priority.

My brother shook his helm slightly before he smirked. "No. Despite being just a soldier for the Decepticons, she holds more respect here than many leaders and ambassadors. And the funnier thing is, most of them don't care." He then softened his smirk into a soft smile. "If you would have told me, the solar before the incident, that some random Decepticon femme would gain so much respect that some of those uppity leaders would show her as much respect as sire, I would have had you committed."

"Fair enough," I agreed with him. "But if you would have told me that she would also have our goddess scared of offending her, then I would have had you committed as well."

And that fact still, to this solar, surprised me. Grinchain, the only one of us to have gone to her meetings with the goddess, refused to say what happened during those meetings. But, more importantly, he refused to say what happened during that first meeting. Sire couldn't even get it out of him. The mech just said that there were some things better off not known. And, while I was curious, I would not be asking Pandimala about it. Some questions were better off not being answered.

"If you didn't, I would have committed myself," Firebrand agreed. "I'll be honest: When Sharpstreak told me about Pandimala's first meeting with Iussa, I thought sire had finally lost his sanity. Our goddess, who sire and carrier feared upsetting in the slightest, had met with the Decepticon that I thought was destroying Vestium Major from the inside out."

Now that Firebrand mentioned him, I realized that Sharpstream wasn't here. He should have been standing here close to us, yet the triple changer was nowhere to be seen. And that mech was hard to miss. So, I leaned in closer to Firebrand. "Speaking of Sharpstreak, where is he?"

"I don't know all of the facts, but sire mentioned that Lord Dometti told him Sharpstreak needed to stay at their embassy to await a report from Pova about some internal discrepancies," Firebrand answered before he continued. "But, if I had to guess, Lord Dometti knew that Sharpstreak might try and start something during the ceremony if he was to attend. Plus, even if Goldleaf had left the night of the banquet, she wouldn't have gotten here on time to attend this in her brother's place."

I had to give it to Lord Dometti; he could make a tough call when needed. Pova would take some bad publicity for this, regardless of whether Sharpstreak was here. I doubted the mech would have been able to control his expressions completely, even if he had bit his glossa if he had been in attendance. By not having Sharpstreak here, Lord Dometti was at least letting the Alliance know that he was trying to make this event go as smoothly as he was allowed to help.

Movement from the dias caused the room to go silent. Sire walked a few steps forward before he spoke. "Members of the Galactic Alliance and special guests, we are all gathered here this solar to recognize the efforts and dedication that one being has shown ever since their arrival upon my planet. A guest who has not only given more than any could ask of her but has reminded me of the importance of patience, humility, and gratitude. Standing before each of you, I can admit that before her arrival, Vestium Major was in trouble, as was the Galactic Alliance. We could not trust our allies and saw danger everywhere we looked. I can say without hesitation that the Alliance was in its darkest hour. With her arrival, that began to change."

To my surprise, King Poiman stepped forward to stand in front of sire. "We were reminded that while the Galactic Alliance is an influential power in the known universe, we are not the only entity out there. The femme's interactions with each of us showed us the folly of the pride we were falling into. Once that error was realized, we approached each other with acceptance and patience." I thought this was just a presentation from sire to Pandimala. Did I miss something? Risking a glance at Firebrand, I saw that he was just as surprised at this development as I was.

"She taught us that, despite our views on the known universe, we are not all-knowing," Lord Bloodfall took his turn to step forward. Once he stopped next to sire, he continued. "While I have recently come off of deposing my sire for crimes against our planet, I discovered his plans to cause dissension for Vestium Major. I expected to arrive on Vestium Major met with hostility and mistrust, which we deserved due to my late sire's actions. Instead, I was greeted with open arms and a chance to explain the misconduct my sire had been a part of. As a new leader in the Alliance, I was able to see the change this femme was able to bring forth."

Empress Ladania then moved forward and stood next to King Poiman. "While I did not have the honor of knowing the femme as long as my fellow leaders here, the femme made an impact I never expected. When I arrived on Vestium Major, I had come to keep an eye on the trouble we had heard was rising. I never even planned to meet with the femme. As a leader of the Alliance, however, I felt my presence was necessary. After the incident at the Airlandian embassy against King Poiman, I met with the femme to reconcile for the trouble she had faced. Instead of finding bitterness and frustration, I found a wise femme whom I found liberating to speak with about my concerns for the Alliance. She helped open my eyes to new possibilities that even serving a chaos-centric god had not allowed me to see. The femme's courage during the events of the attack just compounded the respect and awe I have for her."

Finally, Lord Dometti moved forward and stood on sire's other side. "I have been friends with Lord Dawnbreaker for many stellars. When I heard my friend was in trouble, I immediately came to discover what I could of the situation. What I found was a Decepticon who was wise beyond her measure and a processor about her that was direct yet precise. Not often do I find a bot as composed as the femme, and that composure reminded me of the need to look outside ourselves." He then paused before he grew a hardened look. "The Alliance as a whole has become stagnant in our progression forward. Respect is not a pre-determined set of motions that should be done to certain levels of power. In truth, that femme has allowed me to see that respect is shown in our actions and heard in the tone of our voices. Voices that carry the words of the Alliance to the universe."

Silence fell for a few nanos before sire spoke again. "And it is in honor of this femme that we have gathered this solar." At his words, the doors opened on the far side. The room seemed to still as Pandimala started to walk into the room. Chills went through my systems with each step she took. As when I first saw her, simply her presence radiated power. Unlike that solar, however, I felt a calm air mingling with that power.

Safe.

Once she arrived at the base of the stairs to the dias, she paused for a nano before she moved. My optics widened as she gave a full chassis bow to the leaders. I had yet seen her do more than nod her helm toward any of them. Yet here she was doing this? It didn't make sense.

"Pandimala," Lord Poiman said, a hint of confusion in his voice. "You do not need to bow before us."

To my continued surprise, she smiled. "You all have my respect, much more than you did upon our initial meetings. It would be wrong for me not to express that now." She then grew a playful smirk on her faceplate. "But do not worry, I'll save this for special occasions."

That got a chuckle out of the leaders and a nano-delayed chuckle from the rest of the guests. I guess the public still wasn't sure how to react to Pandimala. To be fair to them, she didn't make it easy. Even after all this time, I wasn't entirely sure about all of her actions.

"As expected," sire responded to Pandimala's retort with a smile of his own before he addressed both her and the assembled. "Pandimala, your arrival on Vestium Major, and thus coming into the sights of the Galactic Alliance, was unplanned. I believe that it was fate that brought events into action that would cause you to stay here. Through the actions that you have taken since your arrival, the Galactic Alliance was saved from the brink of collapse. There will never be the right words to say to you to thank you for all that you have done. However, as you have shown us, actions speak much louder than words."

My optics widened as each leader gave a full chassis bow to Pandimala one by one. They held their positions until each one bowed toward her. The femme in question looked shocked at the action. Thankfully, for the panic Pandimala seemed to be going into, the leaders only held the bow for a few more nanos before they all rose as one.

"The Galactic Alliance owes you a debt that we will never be able to repay. You fought for our citizens and us. Your directness politically pushed us out of our habits and helped us prepare for the trouble rising beneath our visuals. When that trouble came, you did not hesitate to fight side by side with our soldiers, shedding energon to protect us, though you did not need to do what you did." Lord Bloodfall spoke.

King Poiman then continued where he left off. "Against creatures that are some of the most feared in the universe, she didn't hesitate to charge forward, saving those that she could before she faced one of the most feared creatures in the known universe. We have seen the memories from that fight, and I can say without a doubt that none of us would ever want to face her on the battlefield if we could avoid it."

"The five of us are in agreement," Empress Ladania said. "Firstly, while we cannot make a proclamation for the entirety of the Alliance, we can come to an accord among ourselves and our citizens. From this solar forth, no one is to kneel before those they do not wish to. To kneel before others whom you have not sworn yourself to, as we have been taught, can be seen as an insult to those who are not a part of the Alliance. It will take time to implement this new tradition, but I have great faith that we will evolve as the rest of the universe has done."

Lord Dometti, to my surprise, then walked forward until he was standing in front of Pandimala. The surprises kept coming as he held a servo out toward the femme. While I wasn't sure what was happening, Pandimala seemed to have figured something out from the surprised look on her faceplate. She purposefully moved her optics to look between his servo and his optics, seemingly asking if he was sure about whatever they were doing. He gave a slight nod to the femme in response before she hesitantly took his servo.

My optics widened as he led Pandimala to the stage to stand level with them. "Secondly," Lord Dometti started. "While you have made it clear that you will only see your Lord as greater than you, we want to make it more official within the Alliance. To any under the rule of the leaders present, you are to be looked upon with the same respect as they would show one of us." I realized the impact of Lord Dometti saying this as he spoke the words. In short, if Sharpstreak, or any being, tried anything against Pandimala again, any planet under their rule would treat him like he had made such an action against one of those five.

Also, the underlying note in that proclamation said that, while the Decepticons were not in the Alliance, Lord Megatron was to be treated the same since he was the only one Pandimala saw as greater than herself. While I wasn't sure how long it would take word of this to reach the Decepticons, I knew that it would only help the development of their rule in the long term. This seemed to be the greatest act of gratitude that they could give to the femme. Nothing else in my processor could top that.

However, there seemed to be more because, as Lord Dometti returned to his place, sire spoke. "Thirdly, for as long as you live, you will always be welcome on any planet under our rule, whether we be online or not. Lord Bloodfall and I have already spoken to Electel and Iussa to make sure that this declaration is carried on when the solar comes that we are no longer among the online. Lord Dometti, Empress Ladania, and King Poiman will do the same with Alaran, Chirous, and Sintage upon their return to their homeworlds. Those leaders under them will do the same to their deities, as Lord Oryax and Emperor Thav will do once they return home."

"Lastly," King Poiman continued, "Even though we are grateful to have had you among us and count you as a great friend, we understand that your greatest wish right now is to return to Lord Megatron. To help you achieve that, we have commissioned Locktheon to construct a ship for you as our final gift of appreciation."

The shocked look on my faceplate matched every faceplate in the crowd as King Poiman announced that. Locktheon was the best shipbuilding enterprise in this half of the known universe and arguably the best one in the universe as far as we knew. To even commission a personal ship of the smallest size from them cost millions of credits. While the unphased look on Pandimala's faceplate told me she probably didn't understand the weight of what was just said, the rest of us in attendance did. With all those things combined, the leaders, especially sire, had shown Pandimala the proper recognition she deserved.

It took about seven more cycles of socializing before the ceremony, and subsequent party reached the point where bots could start to leave without being disrespectful. While a part of me wanted to stay longer and keep enjoying the party, I knew I should be getting some recharge.

So, after saying my goodbyes to sire, the leaders, and Pandimala, I started to make my way to my room. While the next solars would see many of the dignitaries on the planet begin to leave, I also knew that our challenges were far from over. While I was sure Vestium Major was safe for now, the events before Pandimala's arrival and those that had appeared since showed us that we had enemies planning our downfall. We had to be ready, and the move the leaders made this solar would be a major step toward that.

The Alliance needed allies outside of our borders if we were going to survive. That much had been made apparent. We had almost torn each other apart. An outside set of optics could see things we couldn't and helped us see the self-destruction we were heading for. While sire and the other leaders were working toward that goal, I knew that I would have a part to play. Firebrand would have to stay near sire for official meetings, and as second created, that meant I would more than likely be sent out to planets that we were hoping to make allies with as an ambassador.

As I finally arrived back in my room, I laid down on my berth, ready to go into recharge. I'd hit the washracks in the morning. For now, I needed to settle down for the night. However, as my offlining procedures took over, an errant thought went through my processor. If Pandimala was to leave any earlier than what Physis prescribed to her, she would have to have a bot take her on their ship or the one she was just gifted. And right now, the odds said that would most likely be a Decepticon. Hopefully, we would be ready for that visitor if they did come. I knew for sure that I would be.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"So, how does it feel?"

I smiled at Firebrand as the two of us walked down the main street of Vestium Major. It had been fifteen solars since the recognition ceremony I had been honored at. In that time, another major event that I had gone through was the cause of the heir's question. Thankfully, the answer to that question was easy to give. "It is a relief. Honestly, I thought I would be in the training for at least a stellar before I graduated. But, from what Sandstorm said, the progress I've made on my snaps is as far as anybot with my kind of snap trigger can train. Plus, he said that I should be in even more control once I return to my lord, or I'm under my lord's orders."

My recovery was nearly complete. With my graduation from the triple-changer training out of the way, I just needed to recover enough for my tcog and wings to be released. Then I could continue my journey back to my lord. While I treasured the friends and allies I had made here on Vestium Major, nothing could compare to finally completing the order Lord Megatron gave me to return to him. Even though I knew I needed to recover, not being able to keep making progress in returning to my lord weighed heavily on me.

"That's good," Firebrand responded to my comment. "Honestly, I'm surprised that you went through the training so quickly. Even putting aside my past prejudice against you, Sandstorm runs a very strict training program. To earn his approval to graduate after so little time is nothing short of a miracle."

I let out a laugh at how he ended his response. "And I honestly need every miracle I can get. Even I can't hide how much trouble seems to find me."

"And if you tried, even I could argue against that. I've never heard of another being who had so much bad luck." Firebrand shook his helm before motioning around us. "Thankfully, you seem just as able to gain allies and friends. Slag, before he left, King Poiman was boasting about how close a friend he was to you. Before you came into our existence, King Poiman was known as a leader who was very hard to impress. Even his subordinate planets don't have as close of a connection with him as you do."

While I knew that King Poiman was a being who didn't trust easily, I didn't realize just how much that was. "I was just honest with him. It was nothing special." My friendship with King Poiman was still surprising when I had time to think about it. Our first meeting had been stressful at the beginning, and I honestly thought I would have to disconnect my soliform and escape, given how angry he had become. Now, the leader was bragging about how we were friends.

"To be fair, most beings who meet with leaders of the Alliance aren't so bluntly honest," Firebrand argued. The mech then shook his helm before he changed the subject. "Off of that, your time here should be a little easier given that most of the leaders have returned to their planets."

He was right about that. Having so many leaders on the planet before was a lot of pressure that I wasn't trained to deal with. Even though I seemed to have an unnatural amount of luck lately, it was best not to push it. I still wasn't home yet, and I needed to stave off any bad luck that might come my way. "That's a relief. Maybe I won't be in the middle of some existence-changing crisis." We both laughed at that. There was no reason to hide what was obvious to everybot. Slag, I was pretty sure Lord Dawnbreaker was going to need a slag ton of therapy given everything that had happened here since my arrival. "Which leaders are left?"

While I had seen some of the ones I was closer to off, I knew that there were more leaders that I might not have seen off, and it would be smart for me to know who was left. Thankfully, Firebrand answered me quickly. "Last I heard, outside of my sire, only Emperor Thav and Lord Trizan are left. Emperor Thav has a few things he needs to get straightened out before returning to Eternia while Lord Trizan, according to sire, said that Empress Ladania asked him to oversee some shipments that they were having sent from here to Hydrus IV along with making sure the construction of your ship is still on schedule so it would be completed on time."

And that was another shock, and one that I didn't take seriously enough when they announced it as one of my gifts. The solar after the event, Firebrand had pulled me aside and explained to me, in a lot more detail, about what Locktheon was. The number one shipbuilders this side of the known universe, just to get the smallest ship from them cost more than I would see in stellars, let alone the ship that they were going to be getting me. While they were keeping the size of the ship a 'surprise', even the smallest one will be too much. But Firebrand insisted that it would be insulting for me to cause a fuss now, when I didn't do so during the ceremony.

Something told me those slaggers knew what they were doing when they announced that they were giving me a ship from Locktheon during that ceremony. Maybe when I met with Dawnbreaker later this solar, I could complain about it.

However, there was no point in burdening Firebrand with my complaints. "Despite how unnecessary getting the ship from Locktheon is, I am excited to go home as soon as possible. I'm grateful Empress Ladania and Lord Trizan are putting so much effort into making sure my ship is going to be ready. I'm already so far behind in my travel to Pyrovar that I've been planning out my route, and any alternate routes that I might have to take."

"Wow, you've put a lot of thought into your trip." It was strange hearing the melancholy behind Firebrand's vocals. "It's amazing that, with everything going on, you've been able to plan that out." He then shook his helm. "I wish I could plan things out like that. I can barely keep up with my solar-to-solar duties."

It was hard to suppress the vent that I wanted to let out at that click. In the solars that I had started having Firebrand as my guide, I was beginning to learn that the mech was more than stressed about his duties and responsibilities. They weighed heavily on him. Honestly, it made me wonder if this stress in him was what let Sharpstreak control the mech as long as he did. "Well, what are your goals for the future?"

He seemed startled at my question, but after a few clicks, he answered me. "To one solar take over for my father as Lord of Vetium Major."

"Okay, and what is an important thing you are going to need as a leader?"

Firebrand seemed to think about that for a few nanos before he responded. "Allies." But, at that, he looked confused. "But, my sire has already set up so many alliances, I'm not sure if I will need more."

Allspark, give me patience with this mech. "You always need more allies. Not only that, but it is your job, along with your other siblings, to keep the alliances that your sire has set up. While the alliances you all have with mechano-based species should last for some time, the ones with organic leaders can change quite rapidly, given their lifespans. Eternia has a new ruler about every three hunder stellars, and that is only if they are lucky. From what I researched, there have been hundreds of rulers of Eternia just in the time that your sire has held his lordship, let alone those that were around during Duskmorrow's tenure."

Now, he had a look of realization light up his optics as I spoke. "You're right. I…I never thought of those alliances like that."

"Not only that," I continued. Now, it was time to make a point that would hit a little closer to home with the mech. "But even the alliances you have need to be supported and inspected regularly. While Lord Dometti is a very competent leader, many can see that Sharpstreak is going to crash all of his sire's hard work to the ground if he doesn't straighten himself out." Firebrand's wings twitched at my mention of his previous friend. While it might be a little insensitive of me to bring it up, the mech did need to think of these things. "And on the flip side of that situation, there may be entities that are your enemies now that may just become some of your closest allies, if you give them a chance. A recent example that comes to processor is Wern."

While I never met the previous Lord of Wern, the texts and reports I read in Teklan Hall said that Lord Bloodfall's sire had a few screws loose with too much power behind his designation. However, if we would have let that information cloud our judgment, then Lord Dawnbreaker would not have gained Lord Bloodfall as the ally he now is.

Firebrand nodded, a confident look in his optics. "You're right. I need to start planning out what sort of alliances I need to start forging for the solar that I become Lord. Thank you, Pandimala." To my surprise, he then shook his helm with a laugh. "I can't believe I almost blew off a chance to learn from you. I really had,"

My senses went on high alert when Firebrand suddenly interrupted himself. Whatever message he was receiving must be from somebot important if he interrupted himself. As the clicks dragged on, I also realized that he must be using the private message system. They must not want whatever information they were passing to leak out, on either side.

When Firebrand's optics suddenly dilated, fear easy to read in them, I felt my chassis tense. There was something wrong. Another attack? Given how we handled the previous attack, I didn't think that any being was that stupid. Perhaps there was a query from the Decepticons? Word of the attack against me should have spread pretty far by this point. The odds were high that a Decepticon would be curious about my actions here, as well as the actions that were done against me. That might explain the fear that was practically radiating from the mech.

When that fear suddenly spiked into terror, I felt a slight tinge of fear in my spark. What the Pit was causing Firebrand to suddenly start panicking like this? This was more than just an inquiry from the Decepticons. Something bigger had to be happening. The way the mech's wings were twitching along with the cycling of his vents created a vision of fear that I had never seen in Firebrand before. I hadn't even felt this much fear from the mech during the attack on the capital. And the odds of offlining during that had been pretty high.

Finally, Firebrand seemed to focus, although his optics were still dilated and his vents were cycling as if he was about to overheat. "Firebrand, what is it?"

His optics locked on me, though it didn't seem like he was truly looking at me. "We're going to offline. By Iussa, we're all going to offline. I'm going to offline."

At this point, the mech was rambling, his speech growing faster and more unintelligible. Grabbing his shoulders, I gave the mech a shake to try and get him to focus. "Firebrand, how are you going to offline?"

"One of them is here. He's here. Iussa…I'm going to offline. He's here!"

Bam!

My knuckle joints stung slightly as Firebrand stumbled back. I needed the mech to talk to me. I needed the information if I was going to help him. "Who's here, Firebrand?" The heir seemed frozen in place, that panicked look almost burned into his optics as they locked with my own. Finally, after a few nanos, one word left his vocals.

"Tesarus."

Tesarus's 1st P.O.V.

Something wasn't right about this. I had just landed on Vestium Major ten clicks ago, and I was already being granted an immediate meeting with the current Lord of Vestium Major, Dawnbreaker. When bots arrived on a planet unannounced, meeting with even lower-ranked officials sometimes took a servo-full of cycles, let alone with the planet's leader.

However, when I arrived, I was immediately greeted by Vestium Major's Military Commander, Scorchflint, and their Air Commander, Kite. I knew that I was usually scanned as extremely dangerous by most planets' security scans, and that usually led to me being greeted by a small armed force of bots. That force was usually made up of bots who would not be missed should I decide to remove them from existence. Here, though, I was greeted by two high-ranking officials of the planet.

Once I was past that confusion, I immediately demanded to have an audience with Lord Dawnbreaker. While I knew that I would not gain an audience with the leader, given my reputation along with the reputation of the rest of the DJD, I started my demand high so that I would speak to a higher-ranked bot than they might assign to me. It was a common strategy used when negotiating. Start your demands high so you could end with what you really wanted. Given the nervous looks on the two bots, I was ready for that plan to go exactly how I wanted.

Instead, I was in this situation.

Given that he was the leader of the planet, I couldn't just force the information I wanted out of the mech. That was especially with everything I learned about the Decepticon his people were supposed to be holding hostage. From what the mech on Scarvix said, the bot had been interfering with many of the leaders and representatives that were on the planet, even ending up in a scuffle with the heir of Pova. This Decepticon's interactions continued to gain notice until the recent attack on the planet by the mercenaries of Luxor. While the mech didn't know the details behind the bot's current imprisonment, he had heard that it had something to do with one of the fights they had been involved in during that attack.

I returned my focus to my present situation as Scorchflint and Kite stopped in front of a door that I assumed led to Lord Dawnbreaker's receiving area. For the first time in millions of stellars, I wasn't sure what to do in a situation. I was under no orders at this click, and as of right now, I had not been disrespected. So far, the only 'mistake' this planet had made was holding the Decepticon they had hostage. During this talk, I would have to keep myself in check.

Once the doors were opened, I walked inside, past the two mechs who escorted me. Once I was inside, the doors were shut behind me. It must be a delaying tactic should these talks not turn out well. Regardless, I needed to see what I was walking into.

To my surprise, there were more bots in the room than I expected. Along with myself, Scorchflint, and Kite, Lord Dawnbreaker was standing with his bondmate, Seabreeze, and three of his four creations. Why was the Lord of Vestium Major exposing his family to me like this? He had to know of my reputation, and if they had wronged the bot on this planet, then he was only exposing his spark and those of his family.

At least the leader was smart enough to keep his heir away. That would at least keep the planet's ruling system in check should I decide to take this unknown Decepticon back by force.

"Greetings, Tesarus, and welcome to Vestium Major." Lord Dawnbreaker's greeting told me that the mech was nervous. He must have an idea as to why I was here.

So, I figured it would be a good idea to test that theory out. "Lord Dawnbreaker, what is the status of the Decepticon currently here on Vestium Major?" I didn't have time for the frivolties of greeting the Lord. Not when I was under the impression he had a Decepticon held hostage. There was no use in going through greetings if I was about to tear the mech to shreds.

To my surprise, the Lord looked calm as he answered me. "She is doing just fine. The femme has been well taken care of since her arrival."

Right. Well taken care of. While they might believe that they were treating their hostage well, especially in comparison to the way we would treat ours, I doubted the femme was well. Regardless of the truth in his words, he at least revealed that the Decepticon was a femme. There were few femmes in our ranks, so the odds were high that I had at least come across this bot's designation. Perhaps it was Astraea. The femme had been out past even Quintesson space around Crystallium. Travelling from there might have landed her here on Vestium Major. That was, of course, if it was even a femme worth mentioning.

Since I doubted that this femme was fine, let's see how far the Lord was willing to take this claim. "If the femme is well, then you will have no problem,"

My demand was interrupted by the door behind me opening. Immediately, I fell into a battle-ready stance. Was this their plan? Let me take my guard down to launch a surprise attack from behind? That idea, while plausible at first, was starting to become less likely as two more bots entered the room. One, to my surprise, was the heir of Vestium Major, Firebrand. His faceplate was showing the correct amount of fear at my presence. Much more than his sire, that was for sure.

However, it was the bot next to him that drew my attention. From what I could see, the femme was a large grounder with a treaded alt mode. She seemed to carry herself confidently as she strode into the room, not a nano of hesitation in her steps. From the way that the heir was standing close to the femme, she must be his guard. Security must have improved here if a femme who looked that imposing was the mech's guard.

"Pandimala, your timing couldn't be better." To my surprise, Lord Dawnbreaker addressed the femme, whose designation must be Pandimala, instead of his heir. "I believe Tesarus here was about to ask about your current state of health."

This was the Decepticon? Impossible. She acted much too carelessly to be an outsider, let alone a hostage. Perhaps the Vestians were not as intelligent as we gave them credit for if they thought that this bot could pass as the Decepticon they were holding. "Do you take me for a fool, Lord Dawnbreaker?" Said Lord visibly flinched as I growled that at him. "Trying to have one of your pawns say she is the Decepticon you have taken hostage? I should rip that femme to shreds for daring to pretend to be one of us!"

My words seemed to hang in the air as the room froze. At first, it seemed like I scared the royals into remembering who they were dealing with. However, as the nanos ticked on, I realized that none of them were looking toward me with the trepidation that they had in their optics. A chill of excitement threatened to travel down my spinal strut as I turned to the femme. The aura coming off her was overflowing with power and anger.

"Pretend?" The femme's vocals were laced with fury. "I earned my place among the Decepticons."

Regardless of whether this femme was telling the truth or not, I couldn't stop the excitement I was feeling in response to her fury from reaching my faceplate. "If you are the Decepticon, then prove it. Fight me, with no restrictions outside of offlining." Now, the femme would hesitate. It was one thing to claim to be a Decepticon, but another entirely to fight me to prove it.

However, there was no hesitation from the femme as she stepped right in front of me, anger and determination still radiating from her chassis.

"I accept."

Emperor Thav's 1st P.O.V.

There were few beings still online who could say that they watched a member of the DJD fight with their full strength. And, while we weren't guaranteed that, I had seen memories of Pandimala fighting the razorhowler, and I had personally watched her training sessions. With both of those points of reference, I knew that the femme had a high chance of pulling this legendary mech to use his full strength. What I was about to witness was something few could even hope to dream about. Two terrifying bots were going to clash against each other, and I had a front-row seat.

However, in that same thought, I was also worried about my friend. Pandimala had been in recovery since her arrival here, and events that she kept being put in the middle of had continued to push that recovery back. This clash was bound to further damage the femme, and I knew it would upset her. While she would give as good as she got, this was going to be yet another setback that the femme would not be happy about.

However, I also knew enough about Decepticon culture to know that the femme wouldn't want this to go any other way. From what Grinchain was able to tell me on the walk here, Tesarus had questioned Pandimala's status as a Decepticon, and this fight was going to be her way to prove that status to the mech. Given the stressor behind Pandimala's snaps, this was going to be a dangerous fight all around. Energon was going to be shed, and I knew that both bots were going to try to tear the other apart. Tesarus's reputation spoke for itself, and we had all seen Pandimala fight, whether in person or through memories.

"There are medics on standby, right?" Garl asked from his seat to my right. Galcan, Garl, and Caigal had joined me for this and, as with any good labac, they were also excited for this fight. Garl and Caigal were also friends with Pandimala and realized, like I did, how this was bound to end.

Thankfully, Lord Dawnbreaker was taking every precaution that he could. "Lord Dawnbreaker has a team of medics, including Physis, on standby for the results of this fight. If either Decepticon gets through the fight on their pedes, it will be a miracle of Murav."

For this challenge, Lord Dawnbreaker had authorized the use of the triple-changer training arena, given its reinforced structure. Since that meant regular lessons could not proceed, the bots who were put out were given an invitation to witness this, along with their ambassador. Also, given that he was the only other leader here besides Lord Dawnbreaker and me, Lord Trizan was also extended an invitation. As I figured he would, the Lord had accepted the invitation.

"That's good," Caigal was focused on the field below us as she spoke. "The last thing Lord Dawnbreaker needs is for two Decepticons, one a DJD member to boot, to offline here. He is going to need to make sure that the medics are ready to treat the bots as soon as the fight is over."

I hadn't thought about that. I was so focused on the fact that both were going to be fighting that I didn't think about what would happen if both offlined. Perhaps we would need another highly qualified medic outside of Physis to work on them. Lord Dawnbreaker had to make sure both were treated equally after the fight. "Pandimala sure does know how to cause Lord Dawnbreaker more stress."

Before any of them could respond to me, a tense pressure suddenly filled the air, causing the stadium to quiet. Two sets of pedesteps seemed to echo through the air before the bots in question entered the arena. Tesarus held a confidence that spoke to the number of victories he had to his designation. While the mech looked relaxed, I didn't miss the way he was entirely focused on Pandimala. Despite the calm way he was walking, he at least seemed to be taking Pandimala seriously.

As for the femme, she looked as focused and confident as she should. Her fight against the razorhowler had given her the credibility to stand against Tesarus. This was a test. From what I knew of her history, this was the first real challenge against a fellow Decepticon that the femme had faced. For it to be against a member of the DJD was nothing to sneeze at. But I knew my friend. She would fight with everything she had.

Once the two stopped walking, Sandstorm walked out to the middle of the arena. It was easy to see that the trainer was nervous as he stood between the two Decepticons. "Tesarus, Pandimala; there will be no offlining, otherwise anything else goes." That was another surprising thing. The fact that they were going to go basically all out in this fight meant that we were about to see a side to Pandimala that we had yet to see, and we were going to get a glimpse at the strength of the DJD. "The fight will be over when one bot surrenders or is unconscious. At the sound of the alarm, you may begin." Sandstorm then hesitated for a few nanos before he made his way off the arena floor.

Surprisingly, neither Decepticon followed his movements. Instead, they were both completely focused on their opponent. It was amazing to watch how they studied each other. They were like two spinadagos tracking each other down. A rare carnivore that thrives on the planet Fleed, the agile bipedal reptilians were intense hunters, often able to track down their prey over great distances without stopping. And those two, from the looks on their faceplates, would not stop until one of them was unconscious.

There would be no surrender.

I jumped in my seat as the alarm sounded, and the two on the field immediately moved. It was obvious to see that Pandimala had speed over the mech, but he wasn't just standing there waiting for her. It took about five nanos for the two to meet, metal clashing against each other as each one tried to gain an upper-servo. It had only been a click, and energon was already starting to spatter on the ground by their pedes. However, neither bot looked upset. Instead, they seemed to be thriving in this atmosphere.

If I hadn't already thought it would be necessary, and Lord Dawnbreaker hadn't given the go-ahead, then this fight would definitely be showing me that I needed to make an alliance with the Decepticons. These were only two of their soldiers, one with her wings and tcog locked down. If they went against my army, I was sure those two alone could kill hundreds before we could take them down. If the other Decepticons were only a quarter as talented as those two, then our planet would be doomed if we made the Decepticons our enemies.

As the carnage below continued, I found myself watching on in amazement. This battle, regardless of the outcome, would be remembered for generations to come.

Lord Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

My spark was not going to survive this solar. As I watched the clash of Decepticons below, I couldn't tell who was ahead. Both had injuries littering their chassis, energon plastered against their plating, yet neither looked like they were slowing down. We all knew that this fight would be terrifying, given the reputation of both bots involved. But, even this was more than I thought it would be.

Glancing around the arena, I noticed that the other beings in attendance seemed as morbidly fascinated in the fight as I was. I seemed to be the only being who was able to look away. While I had kept the attendance as low as I could, there were still many influential beings who needed to be sent an invitation to this fight. I think my only saving grace was that this fight was such short notice; most beings I had to invite were unable to attend.

The only ambassador from New Quintessa's planets was Ambassador Garbian of Zull. Dendron Beta had their own ambassador, Goldust, along with two of their other Ambassadors: Carbaran of New Avalon and Mink'lai of Ork. Pova sent their ambassador, Arbor Stellaris, along with Conglumus of Thundera, Pythor of Mongo, and Scobeti of Bedlam. Hydrus IV sent Flamintra, as well as Barson of Koratus, Cozeran of Airlandia, along with Lord Trizan, and Hazark of Eskabar. Ambassador Sanquill of Wern and Tinte of Majipoor were the only ones available from Wern's holdings, though neither of them seemed to be upset by that, if I was reading their expressions correctly.

Surprisingly, there were five of Antiga Prime's six ambassadors present. Darnusk of Druidia, Ranpar of Argus IV, Altrua of Gor, Vibralia of Pangar, and Gratal of Antiga Prime, who, if I remember correctly, was Poiman's brother-in-law, were in attendance. From my own holdings, I was present with my family to represent Vestium Major. Credax was present with Leopel, who was supposed to go home next solar, for Ethos. Lord Oryax would be very interested in viewing the triple-changer's memories. Finally, for Eternia, Emperor Thav was present with Ambassador Galcan, and his current war council: Caigal and Garl.

There were a few other beings who were here, mostly connected to the triple-changer training that had been cancelled for this fight, but that didn't matter. Every being in this room currently seemed to share their focus, watching the two Decepticons tear each other apart in their gruesome dance.

A flinch travelled through my chassis as Tesarus was able to grab hold of Pandimala and start to shove her into his cavity. Her scream of pain, while only lasting a few nanos, was just as jarring to hear now as it was the first time the mech had caught her. However, as before, she was able to force the mech to disengage. This time, thankfully, she was able to use her new swords to send a jolt through Tesarus's systems.

Pandimala was lucky that the mech hadn't been able to pin her arms yet. Given her lack of tcog, her cannons were useless, and that meant that she would be virtually helpless if he were able to grab her. Of course, Pandimala wasn't one to be held back by the damage she had taken. Tesarus was missing most of his treads, having had them torn to shreds, while his visor was chipped away in a number of spots. While they had damage, Pandimala had yet to be able to remove his grabber claws, yet there were marks on them from her attempts.

Honestly, if this were any other fight, I would have stopped this fragging energon-bath within the first five clicks. Since the circumstances behind this fight were what they were, however, this fight had been going on for fifteen clicks already. For an all-out fight, it had gone on much longer than anticipated.

My chassis half-rose as Tesarus grabbed hold of Pandimala with his actual servos before tossing her across the field. Energon and armor pieces were flying off of her with each impact her chassis had against the ground. To my surprise, the femme was able to correct her movement and skidded further away from the mech on her pedes.

Silence seemed to envelope the arena as the two Decepticons paused, facing each other as their vents cycled. This was it. The tension in the air said that, after this next attack, only one of them would remain standing. Observing the two bots, now that they weren't moving, caused me to worry. While Pandimala looked like she was having the time of her existence, her opponent wasn't so happy.

Anger was practically radiating from the mech as he stared at her. Why was he upset? I wasn't sure what his standards were, but given that both were still standing, this had to be a battle that he could be proud of. Yet, he was like this? "This is your last chance, femme!" Tesarus yelled at Pandimala as he seemed to steady his pedes. "Give me everything you have!" He had his grabber arms extended, blades spinning furiously in his cavity.

Instead of being put off by the anger, Pandimala gave a ruthless grin that seemed to split her faceplate before she gave a nod and ran forward. While this seemed to anger the mech even further, Pandimala didn't slow down, didn't hesitate. Both of her swords, electricity dancing down each blade, seemed to glide through the air as she drew them in front of her. Another two steps, and they crossed in front of her chestplate. Did she plan to remove one of his appendages? His right leg was looking weak, and she would have seen that. However, Tesarus would be aware of the weakness and be prepared to stop her. Plus, crossing her arms in front of her left her exposed to his grabber arms. If he was able to grab her while she was in that position, then she would be trapped. My intakes seemed frozen as she entered his reach. As I thought, those grabbers moved with purpose to try to restrain Pandimala.

Clang!

My optics widened as Pandimala extended her arms, using her blades to disrupt his grabbers and cause them to go inert. As they did, Pandimala's blades seemed to slide out of her servos, going back into her subspace. What was she doing?

In the next nano, my confusion soon turned to amazement. With the speed that she had built, Pandimala lunged forward, catching his knee with her left pede to give her a boost. In the next instant, my spark stopped. With the boost she gained, Pandimala dug her right pede into the outer line of blades in Tesarus's chassis! As she did that, she seemed to lightly grab his helm. A spark beat passed, and the speed of the blades turning gave her chassis more momentum than she had built up. Another spark beat: Pandimala tore her pede free of the blades as she flung herself and Tesarus backwards.

Time seemed to freeze as Pandimala was vaulted over the DJD member, taking the shocked Tesarus with her. The ferocity she was showing was jarringly upset by the manic grin that seemed to tear apart her faceplate.

Boom!

Dust rose from the ground as both chassis impacted the ground. Nanos later, Pandimala rolled out from the cloud of dust, on her pedes, but still battle-ready. While there had been no movement from Tesarus, she was wise to be cautious. He could be using the dust as a cover while he stood back up. My throat tightened, wings raised and tensed, as the dust slowly started to settle. This was it. Pandimala was almost ready to lose consciousness, if what I could see was accurate. If Tesarus was still battle-ready, then she would not make it through this.

And every being in the room knew it.

The dust settled lower.

A dark visor broke through the dust.

"The winner is Pandimala!" Sandstorm declared as he stepped back onto the field.

Before anybot else could react, Pandimala wrenched her helm back with a roar. In her optics, I saw victory flash as she held her cry. This was her click. Pandimala had proven herself to her fellow Decepticon, and she had secured her victory against the mech who had doubted her place among the Decepticons.

The air seemed to grow still as silence settled over the arena. Pandimala's vents were cycling rapidly as her chassis continued to leak energon. In the next instant, her optics faded before she fell into stasis.

While I was sure every being here was amazed by the fight we had just watched, no cheers rang out. Even though the fight had been captivating, the carnage that came with it was more than most beings saw in their existences.

Damage…

"Physis, I want you to start immediate work on Tesarus. Take who you need to assist you." While I knew Physis had been working on Pandimala since her arrival, I had to be smart about this. There were few, if any other, medics who would be willing to get close enough to a member of the DJD to run scans on him, let alone repair him. However, that was exactly what we needed to happen. Physis was the only bot who would get close to the mech to repair him.

However, as Physis moved, I turned my attention to Pandimala. She was in the same state as Tesarus, and she would need to be repaired. However, there were no other medics under my rule that I felt comfortable enough with to fix her. We had to approach this situation with caution. That meant that both bots required the same level of medical attention.

"Lord Dawnbreaker," I turned to Lord Trizan as he approached, his own medic, Ashtar, walking next to him. "Ashtar has experience working with my chassis, through many injuries, over millions of stellars. He would be able to take care of Pandimala since Physis will otherwise be occupied."

Before the healing the Galactic Alliance had gone through, I would have been hesitant about his offer. But things had changed. "Thank you, that would be most appreciated. Firebrand will show you to a med room you may use." I agreed with a grateful smile. I knew of Ashtar's reputation, and I knew the mech would be able to repair Pandimala to the same degree that Physis would have.

With my approval given, Lord Trizan turned to Ashtar. "See to it."

In return, the mech nodded before joining the transport team moving Pandimala out of the arena. While this fight was over, I worried for the future. Tesarus, before that final blow, had looked furious at Pandimala. Pandimala, on the other servo, had just taken down a member of the DJD—an accomplishment any other Decepticon would wear like a badge of honor.

What would happen when both Decepticons awoke?

Chapter Text

Caigal's 1st P.O.V.

There was so much energon.

Even though it had been three days since the now legendary fight between Pandimala and Tesarus, I couldn't wrap my mind around just how much energon had been shed between the two. They had attacked each other, tearing each other apart piece by piece. There was no hesitation. The same femme who I had spent hours laughing at because of all the little slips she made, I couldn't imagine her being capable of that.

But, from what we saw, not only was she capable, but she excelled at it.

Even Tesarus seemed to be surprised at first. Of course, given the doubt he had that she was a fellow Decepticon, that made a little more sense. It also made Pandimala's impact on the Decepticons that much greater. From the moment she arrived on the Nemesis to her time here, she had been able to overhaul the Decepticons while staying entirely loyal to them. And in the middle of doing all of that, this almost impossible femme found time to train herself to the point where she was going pede to pede with one of the most vicious Decepticons ever to exist.

Even though she had been crucial during the Decepticon operation on Earth, from the information we had been able to find, the Decepticon goal of keeping her out of Autobot sight for as long as possible also caused Pandimala to become an unknown powerhouse among the Decepticons. To the majority of their faction, she won't be known. What we were witnessing now was the awakening of that recognition. How far it would go, I wasn't sure. Defeating a member of the DJD in single combat would vault her forward in terms of respect. However, as Pandimala pointed out numerous times before, it took more than strength to stand at the top of the Decepticons, and while she did well here on Vestium Major, we couldn't know if that would translate well to the Decepticons.

And that was why I was sitting here with Garl and Xiathun'Rei, the newest member of father's War Council, waiting for said father to arrive so we could begin our meeting.

Finally, the door opened, and father walked inside. As the door closed, I could see that he was nervous. I couldn't blame him. We were in a precarious place right now. On one hand, we owed Pandimala more than we could ever begin to pay back, both for our problems and for what happened to her while she was on Vestium Major. As Lord Dawnbreaker's subordinates, we shared in the trouble that was bound to come, though not in responsibility. What we needed to do was ensure that we also respected Lord Megatron, because despite her standing among the Decepticons, we knew of her extreme loyalty to him. To insult him would be equal, if not more, infuriating to her than if we simply insulted her. Not that we would, but it would be a strange path forward that we had to prepare for.

"Apologies for my late arrival. I was watching the triple-changer training going on, and I lost track of time." Father was curious about the effect Pandimala's and Tesarus's fight had on the triple changers in training, so he had gone to the first practice session they had since the field had been repaired. "It is obvious that seeing Pandimala fight against Tesarus inspired those bots. Even that slacker, Runeguard, had finally given his full focus to the training, and he was throwing most of the others around while keeping himself in control. I didn't think the Avalonite had it in him. It was inspiring, to be honest." He then shook his head before any of us could respond to that. "But, he's not the reason we are meeting today. Before we begin, Xaithun'Rei, welcome to my War Council."

The labac smiled, giving my father a nod before she spoke. "It is my honor to be here, Emperor."

"Thav, when we are meeting," My father immediately corrected. He preferred that his War Council be relaxed with each other, which would not work if we all addressed him by his title in these meetings. "It will allow us to be more open with each other. I picked each of you because I saw wisdom and strength, as well as loyalty, in each of you. To keep those aspects strong in my War Council, it will be best to address everyone here as equals."

Xiathun'Rei looked startled for a moment before she relaxed. "As you wish." She then motioned toward the datapad in front of her. "Then I suggest we get to the root of this meeting. Our future interactions with the Decepticons." She then scrolled for a minute before she continued to speak. "I'm sure every other power has seen the need to create some form of agreement with the Decepticons, given the grown energon that they have begun to produce. However, the few who remained for Pandimala's fight with Tesarus will be even more eager to meet with their leaders. We are at a rare advantage due to you three being present at the fight."

At that, Garl took over. "You're right. We saw the power that the Decepticons, even a small fraction of them, possess during this armistice they are in. We cannot rush into negotiations recklessly. Incurring that strength against us would be detrimental to the worst degree."

"What we need to do is offer an alliance with the Decepticons." I turned to stare at my father in amazement. Trade agreements and non-aggression pacts were one thing, but offering a full alliance was not something that ruling powers did lightly outside of the Alliance, these solars. That was especially true given the recent conflict between the Decepticons and Autobots, as well as the circumstances surrounding the armistice. "Lord Oryax and I met with Lord Dawnbreaker after the energon-bath that challenge between Pandimala and Tesarus was. He has given us both full authority to create alliances with the Decepticons, as he will do once he has a chance to settle the extra strains that he is under."

Since we had Lord Dawnbreaker's approval, this was the best track that father could go down. An alliance with the Decepticons would be beneficial for both sides. While the Decepticons held a significant advantage with their grown energon, labac war tactics, and technological integration with organic structures would propel their new world forward even further. It would be a highly symbiotic alliance. However, there were some drawbacks that father needed to take into consideration. "Before we can do that," The three of them turned to me as I spoke up. "Father, you need to return to Eternia and form the rest of your War Council. The Decepticons will not appreciate making a deal with us if our government is incomplete. Also, completing your Council will allow any alliance we make with the Decepticons to be made with stable governments on both sides."

"Caigal is right," Xiathun'Rei agreed. "We need to move as soon as possible and gather allies. Those we can trust to follow you, Thav, and provide a united front to show the Decepticons that we are more than ready for an alliance with them."

"It will show them that we are ready to stand with them in solidarity, regardless of what may come." What was Garl getting at? "Another aspect that we need to keep in mind, and one that I'm more than ready to face, is that officially allying with the Decepticons will mean the chance at making a portion of Primus our enemy." Xiathun'Rei, who must not know everything about Pandimala yet, looked confused at his words. "We can explain more of Pandimala's past in more detail once we leave for Eternia," Garl suggested.

And he was wise to do so. Despite us driving back our enemies for now, it would not surprise me if, even now, they lurked in the shadows near us, gathering information to strike against us. "While you make an excellent point, I would like to meet with Pandimala one more time before we depart, and given the damage she took, I suspect we will stay on planet for at least fourteen more solars. In that time, I want us to refresh ourselves on the hierarchy of the Decepticons, from the information we can find out."

My father was right. Despite my friendship with the femme, my research with Prince Grinchain had revealed much about Decepticon workings that I was unprepared for. "While we hold Pandimala in high regard, we can't know how much sway Pandimala will have among her kind. There are plenty of bots who served on Earth, who have been relegated to ordinary work, according to what reports say. That is despite the contributions that they gave." I then shook my head before continuing. "The odds say that Pandimala's word will only go so far once she returns to the Decepticons, and we must be ready for that possible reality. If we insult Lord Megatron by giving one of his lower-ranked Decepticons so much agency in his presence, he could find that insulting, and we have seen Pandimala's loyalty to her Lord. She would not forgive us if we allowed that sort of insult."

As the other three nodded their agreement to me, I had to remind myself to be cautious. Something else we had learned from Pandimala was that chaos was a strong influence among the Decepticons right now. And chaos, from what we lived through with Murav, could change our perspectives in an instant, and we needed to be prepared for how that future unfolded.

Lord Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

I should have held this meeting sooner. However, given the intensity that our existences had become, there never seemed to be a good click to sit down with Scorchflint and Sandstorm to discuss our future with the Decepticons. Before Pandimala's arrival, most of the Alliance shared the same goal regarding any bot who was embroiled in the Decepticon/Autobot conflict—utter neutrality and, in most cases, avoidance. Given the political turmoil that led to many questionable actions by both sides, the Alliance couldn't trust anything that came from their sector of space. So, we closed ourselves off to their struggles and conflicts. Staying neutral to those who happened to travel through and treating both sides equally, should something happen on Alliance planets.

And then, we had shot Pandimala out of the sky. That one click had changed the future of Vestium Major and the Galactic Alliance as a whole, forever. Pandimala brought new ways of thinking, from personal beliefs to political interactions; she never failed to raise our standards while simultaneously challenging our beliefs.

"You know, I never thought that Vestium Major would be this entrenched with the Decepticons." Of course, since they were still staying at the palace while Pandimala recovered, I thought it was only proper to include Duskmorrow and Flarebell in this meeting. They would have a perspective that I could desperately use, given that sire led Vestium for millions of stellars of peace and strength.

Glancing at my sire, I let out a vent. "Me neither. Of course, I never saw their war getting as close to ending as it was." The fact that peace talks had even happened, despite the outcome, had shocked intergalactic politics into a standstill, and, given the tensions that had been present in the Alliance at that time, it was more than impressive. "And now, I have led us almost right in the center of their sights." Given Tesarus's arrival here, word had spread about how Pandimala came to be here on Vestium Major. Not all of the details, given that my eldest creations still had all of their limbs intact, but enough that they were curious and concerned.

"Tesarus's arrival certainly made that clear," I glanced up as Scorchflint, who said that, entered the room, followed by Sandstorm, the last bot I was waiting for. Given the situation we were in, I thought it would be wise to have both my military leader and my triple-changer trainer here for this meeting. Scorchflint would be able to help guide the conversation from a militaristic viewpoint. At the same time, Sandstorm would be able to bring in his observations of Pandimala, along with his history with other Decepticon triple changers. Usually, I would also have my strategist, Tatsuran, here. But he has been on a diplomatic mission to the secluded domain of the Qs.

So, this would have to do for now.

"Thank you for coming, all of you," I started the meeting before getting down to business. "Vestium Major needs to be prepared for our inevitable interactions with the Decepticons, and more importantly, our first meeting with Lord Megatron. Given all of the factors that have befallen Pandimala during her stay here, we should have a basic idea of how things should go before she leaves." And despite how gruesome it was, I had the fight she had with Tesarus to thank for the extra time we now had. "Thankfully, Pandimala's extended recovery time has given us a grace period to work with."

"That was a fairly brutal fight," Duskmorrow agreed, a mischievous look on his faceplate. "I don't think anybot will think of her as a sparkling anymore, right, Dawnbreaker?"

"Hilarious," Neither my sire nor carrier was ever going to let me forget that. "However, you are right. Pandimala is not a sparkling, and should not be treated as such. And that should include how much weight she may pull in the Decepticon faction. While she won't be the highest-ranked bot, she is operating under direct orders from Lord Megatron to return to him on Pyrovar. That, along with her involvement on Earth, will at least give her word more weight behind it than we thought." Even as those words left my vocals, however, I knew that was a small insight. There were plenty of officers on Earth, some who probably outranked her, and there were still some who did not participate in the fight on Earth that outranked many of those bots who were there.

"We need to prepare for her to at least be high enough ranked to have a formal apology given to Lord Megatron," Sandstorm added. "Most triple changers ranked high in their factions, even the Autobots, and even if we don't know what rank Pandimala has compared to others who were on Earth, it has been spreading fairly quickly that the bots from Earth were close. That was even with the leadership. I heard a rumor from one of my trainees that a group of mechs from Soror ended up on Pyrovar and started causing trouble with the drone-class bots who served on Earth. From what I heard, things had to be broken up fairly quickly due to officers from Earth jumping in to defend them. It stands to reason that Pandimala will receive that same treatment."

"And adding into the fact that Lord Megatron gave her such a direct order," Flarebell added in, "Tells us that she was at least semi-close to the higher command, if not Lord Megatron himself."

Panic gripped my spark as that realization hit me. I didn't even think to connect the fact that Pandimala was on direct orders from Lord Megatron with how respected she might be. We had to do this apology just right, or it could mean trouble for Vestium Major and our allies. "Then we must prepare our apology and an offer of alliance," I declared, causing all helms to turn to me. "I've already given Lord Oryax and Emperor Thav permission to prepare alliances with the Decepticons. They should not be held back due to our mistake, regardless of the consequences for us."

And, deep down, that was what I was most worried about. While Pandimala had received compensation for our treatment of her, Lord Megatron would have the right to demand his own. When the time came, I could not falter or go against him in this, regardless of what the future held.

Seabreaker's 1st P.O.V.

"You know, femme, you recover way too fast, even with your healing factor," I commented as I sat on the med berth across from Pandimala.

A laugh came from her at that. "What can I say, can't keep a good femme down for long."

It was hard not to shake my helm at that. "Given how much you are down, you would know best." I laughed at the fake-hurt expression that came across her faceplate at that. Seriously, if the femme kept this up, then she would never get her wings and tcog out of their lockdowns.

After a few nanos, Pandimala let out a huff. "Speaking about knowing best, care to help a femme walk around for a bit? Ashtar said I should be moving around a few clicks each cycle to help get my joints used to moving again. Tesarus's blades did a number on them, despite not getting me completely."

Nodding, I hopped off my berth and helped Pandimala to her pedes. While I knew she was taller than me, it took times like this to remind me of the height difference between us. "Not sure how much help I'll be if you trip, but at least you won't go down alone." When my wings twitched, I felt guilt creep into my systems. After the creature attack, Pandimala had spoken with sire and had Physis remove the lockdowns on both my and Firebrand's tcog and wings. While I understood why she did so, given the dangers that we all now faced, that still wasn't fair to her. She was stuck in that state, while Firebrand and I could fly around, even though we were the ones who had caused her to be on lockdown.

"I can practically hear your guilty thoughts, Seabreaker." I glanced up at Pandimala as we started to take turns around the room. Slag, I sometimes forgot how observant she was. "It's about your tcog and wings, right?"

Figuring there was no use in denying it, I let out a vent. "It's not right. We were supposed to be on lockdown until your wings and tcog got released. It feels wrong to have them when you can't. That's especially because it is our fault that you are like that in the first place."

Pandimala let out her own vent. "I understand, 'Breaker. I really do. If I had been able to avoid the damage I've added on, though, you two would have already had your wings and tcogs back. While you were put on lockdown as repayment for shooting me down, you shouldn't have to continue to suffer because I can't keep out of trouble. I'm pretty sure once Ashtar comes back in the room, he is going to add even more time until they can be released. There was no reason for me to have you two kept in danger like that when you technically already served the punishment for them." She then grew a knowing look on her faceplate. "Plus, don't think I haven't noticed that, despite having your wings and tcogs back, neither of you has been in the air all that much."

Well, just because Pandimala allowed us to have access to them again, didn't mean we had to use them outside of emergencies. "Just because you gave us the ability to use them, doesn't mean we can't practice some self-control and not use them outside of emergencies. This time being on the ground, I think it has done some good for 'Brand and me."

"That's true. Earth has a saying that says, 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.' Just because I let you two have access, that doesn't mean I can force you to use them, despite how idiotic I think you two are being." When she winced, I paused and let her relax for a nano. After a few clicks, Pandimala motioned to her med berth. "My legs are still a bit sore from the fight. But, this is progress."

And, as per usual, the femme saw the positive in what would have been a harrowing situation for any other bot. Fighting any top-tiered Decepticon was usually an act that many avoided, even other Decepticons. The DJD? Most bots with common sense ran the other way when they simply heard the team's name. But Pandimala? She had been ecstatic for the fight, despite the insult the mech had said when he claimed she wasn't a Decepticon.

Once Pandimala was lying back on the berth, propped up so she could talk, I sat back on the berth I had taken over during this visit. "Pandimala, why were you so excited to fight against Tesarus? I mean, even with your knowledge, you had to know that he is one of the deadliest Decepticons in existence, on a team full of bots who are just as deadly as he is. So, why weren't you scared?"

My question seemed to throw the femme off for a few nanos before her faceplate seemed to settle on a thoughtful look. It was weird. Normally, Pandimala was ready for a quick response that answered what she was being asked. But with this, she was staying silent for a few clicks. Finally, she glanced up and seemed to stare into my spark.

"At this point, I feel like you know me well enough to know just how much I value loyalty to Lord Megatron? Not only mine, but other Decepticons as well."

Yeah, that was obvious to anybot who had a working processor. So, I nodded. "Yeah, a bot would have to have processor loss not to know that once they meet you."

She briefly flashed a smirk at my response before her faceplate returned to the serious expression she was wearing before. "Tesarus, and the DJD as a whole, have proved their loyalty to Lord Megatron over countless stellars, performing unspeakable acts under his orders, or to protect my Lord's reputation. The respect I have for that loyalty was more than I could put into words. They would never be enough to show Tesarus how much I respect what he continues to do for Lord Megatron. When Tesarus demanded a fight to prove my own loyalty to Lord Megatron…I was honored. I will never shirk away from such a chance. To act in fear at the chance to show my loyalty would go against everything I believe. If I had flinched away from the chance he gave me, I would have been seen as weak-willed and unable to stand for what I chose to follow. It would be shameful and disrespectful to the loyalty I feel toward my Lord."

"How could being scared to fight a mech known for tearing bots apart without a second thought do anything to the loyalty you have?" While what she answered did tell me why she accepted the challenge to begin with, I didn't understand her line of thought right now. Self-preservation wasn't bad, and fighting against a bot like Tesarus as she did was usually seen as throwing said self-preservation to the Pit.

A chill travelled down my back plates as Pandimala's look seemed to harden ever-so slightly. "It's simple, Seabreaker. Lord Megatron trusts and respects the DJD, and if I did not do the same, what would that say about me? Would bots say that I did not trust my leader's judgement? Maybe they would say that I didn't have as much loyalty to my Lord as I claimed to have? I will never put my loyalty to Lord Megatron in question unless he directly orders me to. So, to have that chance to show such a loyal bot that I was truly loyal as well filled me with such excitement that I couldn't begin to describe it." She then let out a vent, and thankfully, the chilling aura around her seemed to dissipate before she spoke again. "It is why I plan on visiting the mech once he can have visitors. However, since he has not come out of stasis lock yet, that may not be for some time yet."

Now that she explained everything that she did, my processor finally understood what her's took in naturally. While I didn't have bots like that who were loyal to my sire, if there were, and my sire respected them, then I would want to respect those bots as well. To her last statement, I at least had some news about that. "From the rumors going around, Tesarus should be out of stasis lock any time now. Physis is keeping his room restricted from all bots outside of himself and sire."

"So, that's why Grinchain has been sneaking in here so often, despite the restrictions I'm under. Since he doesn't have access to the newest Decepticon on the planet, I guess I'll do." Pandimala let out a laugh as the words left her vocals.

Laughing for a nano as well, I nodded. "Yeah. While Grinchain doesn't mind ignoring the medics to come see you, even he understands that trying that with a member of the DJD might be too much, even for him."

As I finished speaking, the door to the mech room opened, and in walked the dark blue and silver medic who had been working on Pandimala during this mess. Ashtar was a medic who seemed to exude an aura of calm and tranquility every time he entered the room. Perfect for a medic to do. Slag, even the light blue highlights on his chassis seemed to almost glow, giving off the look of energon. "Slag, more aura-farming again?" Pandimala laughed as the medic stopped next to her berth. "You could give Knockout a run for his credits if you tried a little less."

And, like the other times Ashtar had walked into the room while I was here, he shook his helm at Pandimala's little quip. "We can argue that later. Physis wanted me to come and let you know that Tesarus will more likely than not be awake this solar." A small flash of fear travelled through my circuits at the thought of the mech being awake. While Pandimala gave her reasons for not fearing the mech, that same logic didn't apply to me, a non-Decepticon who was responsible for hurting another one.

Glancing at Pandimala, I noticed that she had an excited look on her faceplate. "Could you have Physis pass a message to Tesarus for me?"

Ashtar stared at the femme in surprise for a nano. "Do I look like a fragging messenger bot?"

At that, Pandimala rose an optic ridge. "Does that mean I have clearance to go down there myself?"

That caused a vent to escape from the medic. "Fine, what message is that?"

"I'd like to meet with Tesarus as soon as we are both medically cleared. Since I will most likely be cleared first, I'll wait for him to summon me. Oh, and let Physis know he can share any medical information with Tesarus that he asks for." Pandimala didn't hesitate to make her demands known.

Her directness seemed to stun Ashtar for a nano. "Anything else?" The medic shook his helm, rolling his optics. "You obviously don't have any issues making demands."

"Well, I wouldn't mind knowing how much more time is going to be added to my recovery time for my wings. You said you were going to ask Physis about it the previous solar."

Soft blue optics met her green ones for a few clicks. After those clicks, however, I felt sorry for Pandimala as a smirk slowly appeared on the medic's faceplate. "After showing your scans to Physis, he and I both agreed that it will be another fifty solars, minimum, before you have a chance to get access to them again."

At his words, Pandimala's faceplate fell instantly. "That's so not nice."

As Pandimala continued to pout, my processor finally seemed to start working, and I made a very important realization. The reason Pandimala probably wanted to meet with Tesarus so soon was to have him help her on her journey to Pyrovar. With the release of her tcog and wings pushed back so much, he was her best and fastest chance to get there. While it hurt that Pandimala would be leaving soon, I knew that this was what she had been wanting since her arrival, and I would support her.

Tesarus's 1st P.O.V.

My processor felt hazy as consciousness slowly returned. It had been over a million stellars since I was last beaten, and it had been by Tarn when I questioned one of the assignments he had given me. But this, this had been different. Both the femme and I had gone into that fight, and I thought we both understood to use all we could. But that fragging femme…how dare she,

Movement out of the corner of my vision caused me to focus on the medic, who I recognized as Physis, Vestium Major's chief medic. "I see you are awake finally. That is good. To be honest, I've been spoiled by Pandimala's recovery times and thought you would be conscious sooner."

"How long has it been?" I needed to be aware of the situation I was currently in. While I didn't think I was unconscious for long, I couldn't be sure.

It was also at this point that I noticed that the medic was keeping well out of reach as he spoke to me. "Three solars. And, while I am sure you have questions, I must finish my medical exam of you."

While I didn't like being denied my answers, I was too weak to force him to answer me at this click. "Very well."

"Good." I raised an optic ridge at the medic's quick response. "For the official record, what is your designation?"

"Tesarus.'

"Race?"

"Cybertronian." I would have to ask, upon my arrival on Pyrovar, if we Decepticons were going to change how we would be called. For now, though, that was the official answer for me to give.

As I continued to answer his basic questions, I realized that the medic had mentioned he thought I would recover sooner, based on the femme's recovery time. If I understood that correctly, it meant that, despite the odds, she was already conscious.

"That should do it," Physis stated as he typed something on his datapad. "I would like a list of injuries from the last hundred stellars, just to make sure there isn't anything I need to be aware of."

While I doubted he would answer me outright, this medic might give something away if I asked about the femme's medical status. "From what you said, Physis, Pandimala is conscious. How long has she been awake?"

To my continued surprise, Physis didn't hesitate to answer me. "Pandimala was conscious about a solar after you both went down." He then shook his helm. "But, I should know better than to judge others' recovery times based on that femme. Heals way too quickly. The two of you went all out in that fight of yours."

A growl slipped from my vocals as he said that. He assumed that she went all out when she never used her cannons for her transformation sequences. "That fight was disgraceful," My energon was racing in my lines as I thought about that fight. To hold back against me in such a challenge was insulting, and then add in my loss to that, and the femme clearly showed she didn't respect me. "To say otherwise is ignorance at best."

While the medic backed up a few steps, I was surprised when he looked surprised. "From what I saw, you both fought well and did enough damage to each other to put both of you in the medical bays here."

"I specifically told her to give that fight everything that she could, and she agreed!" I yelled at the medic, my systems racing. "Then, that glitch has the nerve to not use her cannons, or even transform! And, with all of that together, she still ended up winning despite not giving me a proper fight! When I see her next, I'll tear her to shreds!"

Silence seemed to settle between us, and I thought I had finally gotten the medic to realize the disrespect that femme had shown me. From how she acted when I challenged her, I thought the femme would be a great opponent. She held confidence that most Decepticons couldn't hope to have, and there was no hesitation in her vocals when she accepted my challenge. Her tone and words told me that I should have had a fight to remember, one that would earn the jealousy of the rest of the DJD.

Instead, I faced that insulting excuse for combat, and, worse yet, I had lost despite the femme doing that.

"You are wrong." I almost flinched when the medic's vocals cut into my thoughts.

"You better speak quick, medic, if you value your spark." I didn't care if he was a high-ranking official. If he tried to defend that femme's actions without a fragging good explanation, I'd string his chassis across this fragging planet, putting the femme's next to his.

There was only a slight nano of hesitation in the medic's optics. "Pandimala did fight with everything that she had. I'd even venture to say that she fought with more than she had, given the repair list that Ashtar sent me the other solar."

Was he blind, or just too enamored with this fragging femme to see the obvious? "Are your optics in working order, medic? She didn't transform or use her cannons. If a bot were to fight at their full potential, they would use everything at their disposal. That femme,"

"Couldn't use those." I allowed the interruption as the medic seemed so confident in his reasoning. "When you met with Lord Dawnbreaker, from what I understand, you didn't inquire as to how Pandimala ended up staying on Vestium Major. Do you wish to know the answer to that question?"

While it was strange for medics to be so free with other patient information, I would use his blunder to my advantage. "While I don't see how that is relevant, I'll humor you." It also helped the mech that, given my recovery, my chances of grabbing him to force the information from his glossa were low. "How did that femme end up staying on Vestium Major?"

"We shot her down." My anger seemed to blink away as he answered so quickly.

"You shot down her ship?" At least we were getting somewhere. While that didn't seem to explain how the femme was currently unable to use her tcog and cannons, it at least explained how the femme arrived on this planet.

This medic seemed to be ready to surprise me constantly as he shook his helm. "We did not shoot down her ship. As I said, we shot her down. Between our scouts, the patrol ship, and the defence system, I still find myself surprised that the femme was able to survive. But, she did. However, her repairs were extensive. To make sure she healed completely, in time, the executive decision was made to place her most damaged parts in medical lockdown. Those were her wings and tcog. Additionally, due to recent events on Vestium Major, which Pandimala has graciously helped us with, the release of the lockdown has been pushed back much further than expected. Your fight has pushed that release back even further."

At his answer, the rest of the anger I was feeling toward the femme seemed to vanish. As the medic defended, the femme…no, Pandimala had fought against me with everything she could. Without her wings, which I didn't even realize she had, to give her readings from the air around our fight, and her tcog, which would have allowed her to use those cannons, Pandimala had given everything she could to that fight.

However, he was being far too flippant with medical information on a fellow Decepticon, and one that I now held in high esteem. "This sort of information is normally kept between a patient and their medic. Forcing such information out of a medic usually entails many unpleasant solars. Why are you telling me all of this?" I couldn't allow a medic who was so careless with Decepticon medical information to leave unpunished, if that were the case.

Luckily for the mech, he seemed to have a response for that as well. "Normally, I wouldn't divulge any medical information about a patient, regardless of the circumstances. However, Pandimala passed a message along to make sure I disclosed any information about the femme that you asked that I could answer. So far, I have been able to do so."

The femme assumed I would ask questions. Given how observant she seemed to be during our fight, she must have noticed how furious I was by the end and wanted to make sure that we started on good terms.

Smart femme.

"I'll have to confirm with Pandimala that she gave such permission." Just because the medic said all of this, that didn't make it true. While I doubted anybot would outright lie to my faceplate, it was always safer to make sure.

Physis seemed relieved that I brought that up. "And that brings us to the request Pandimala made. She asked her medic to have me ask you if she could meet with her as soon as you are medically cleared. Given the results of your scans, that should be within four solars, barring any complications." At that, Physis seemed to mutter something. While I didn't catch everything, I did hear something about bad luck and Pandimala.

"I'll meet her then," I agreed.

"Very well. Drink this low-grade, slowly, while I report my findings to Lord Dawnbreaker. You'll need to take it easy for a few solars, but you should heal well." Physis then handed me the cube before he made his way out of the room.

Once the door was closed, I leaned my helm back with a vent. Between the fight I had with the femme and the rumors that had brought me here, it was obvious to see that the femme was a powerful Decepticon. Much stronger than the average bot. The DJD had information networks that ran through most major Decepticon operations and many neutral planets. How had I never heard of her before? There should have been something —a report, or even just a brief mention of a strong femme in somebot else's report. She didn't just appear; yet, for me not to have heard of her until that mech on Scarvix mentioned her, that was the only answer that made sense.

Since the femme was initiating a meeting with me, I would wait for that time to get my answers. For now, the responsible thing for me to do was to recover from the fight. The femme did more damage than I thought, and for the first time, I was glad that Nickel wasn't here to berate me on my condition. Yes, I would enjoy the rest I was getting for now, and deal with this new situation as I continued to recover. For now, it was time to rest.

Chapter Text

Lord Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

It was a miracle that my planet wasn't rubble.

While most leaders would say that in jest, I truly felt that the fact that my planet was whole was a miracle in itself. Hosting two Decepticons was a risk for any leader who hadn't invited them, and hosting two powerful bots as Pandimala and Tesarus, added to that miracle. Of course, that was helped by the cooperation the two Decepticons already had with each other.

That was another amazing fact in itself. It was no secret that Tesarus had been furious at the end of their match. From what Physis could tell me after the mech woke up, the Decepticon was mad that Pandimala hadn't fought, to what he believed, with her whole strength. However, Physis said he corrected that thought in the mech, and so we all held our intakes when the two bots had met for the first time since the fight.

That was a lot more joyful than we were anticipating. I had been in attendance at first, given the situation with Tesarus, who had believed we were holding Pandimala hostage, and so I was a witness to the two greeting each other like old friends. I wouldn't believe how friendly the two were, given the brutal way they had torn into each other, if I wasn't there to witness it with my own optics. Once it seemed like the two wouldn't try to offline each other, leveling a portion of my planet to do it, I excused myself to give them some privacy.

What that ultimately led to was an opportunity I wasn't expecting. Since they were both going to be in recovery for a number of solars at that point, they had offered training to any of the courses that wished for them to participate. Getting training in fighting from those two bots, even a little, would be an opportunity many would be wise to take.

Of course, convincing those getting training of that was another matter.

Sandstorm had immediately jumped on the offer to have them show up at the first solar training of a new batch of triple changers. Some of those bots, honestly, were extremely full of themselves. So, when Sandstorm had introduced them as assistant trainers for that solar, the looks of terror were amusing to watch.

It had been ninety solars since then, and both Decepticons were healing well. Honestly, at this point, I was expecting them around every corner I took. While I knew both of them wanted to end up on their new home sooner over later, they had become a part of Vestium Major.

However, I knew that the only reason they hadn't left at this point was because they didn't have a ship. The 'ship' that Tesarus had arrived in had been on its last pede, and had to be scrapped. So, the two were waiting for Pandimala's ship to be completed. From what I knew, that could be any solar now.

"They really have changed things," Glancing up, I smiled when I saw Duskmorrow walk up. "It will be strange once Pandimala and Tesarus leave us." Sire then gave me a knowing look. "You are going to miss them."

There was no point in hiding it from the mech. "I will, though that will mostly be Pandimala. She has made such an impact on Vestium Major in the short time she has been here." Thoughts on my family and myself caused me to shake my helm. "No, not just Vestium Major. She has made such a large impact on me and my family that we will feel her absence for quite some time. When Pandimala first landed, all I could see was the trouble that would come with her. The political nightmare that I was bracing myself for, between the Decepticons and the Galactic Alliance, was what I thought was the end of Vestium Major." And, I truly had. At that point, I was ready to give the femme whatever she asked for to make sure that the incident didn't come back to haunt Vestium Major.

"Instead," Duskmorrow picked up. "What you got was great counsel in a trying time for you. Not only did Pandimala maneuver the incident to make sure you were able to repay her fairly, but she also worked and brought your family back from the brink of collapse. I'll be honest with you, Dawnbreaker, I thought you were only a stellar or two away from collapse before the femme showed up." He thought I was going to fail? "When the rumors came that you had allowed a Decepticon to be shot down, almost offlined, even, I thought that was your breaking point. Flarebell and I were already looking at different contacts we still have for evacuation. However, Pandimala's influence seemed to change everything for the better. You lead with more consideration, your family has grown to understand each other and are closer for it, and frag, even Iussa has gotten off of the pedestal she put herself on once you took over."

"Right, because you had her scared pitless when you were ruling," I added.

A smirk played on his faceplate at that. "It was more your carrier than me. Iussa tried to overturn a decree I had made regarding energon intakes during a time when we were experiencing a shortage, and had bullied one of our suppliers into providing her with well over the limit. Flarebell wasn't having that and marched down to her temple, broke down the doors, and threatened Iussa to the point where the goddess never interfered like that again." Duskmorrow then let that smirk fall into a smile. "Seeing the deference Iussa gave to Pandimala during our confrontation with you, it told me all I needed to know about the femme's character. She was going to help Vestium Major. And she did. That attack could have seen hundreds, even thousands, offlined or killed if she hadn't taken down the razorhowler." He then let out a vent. "While it will be an adjustment for you once Pandimala leaves, you need to keep her lessons close to you. Her wisdom extends far beyond what we understand, given what we know of her past. Do not waste it."

He was right. When Pandimala left, I couldn't sit around regretting her choice. Instead, I needed to move forward, using what she had taught me to make my rule even better for the citizens of Vestium Major and for those of the planets that served under me. Vestium Major would show that we could learn, and better yet, evolve, from our mistakes.

My wings twitched as I received a private message from Lord Trizan. Given my recent thoughts, I was quick to open it. "Lord Dawnbreaker, Pandimala's ship is completed and waiting at the docks. Maximus Forge has decided to join in the presentation.-Lord Trizan."

Seeing the questioning look on my sire's faceplate, I knew I had to let him know what the message said. "It's ready, and Maximus Forge himself has come to present it to Pandimala." While sire's optics widened in shock, I responded to Lord Trizan. "I will go and inform Pandimala and Tesarus of this development. Give us two cycles to gather ourselves, and for Pandimala and Tesarus to pack.-Lord Dawnbreaker."

Lord Trizan's response was immediate. "We will be ready.-Lord Trizan."

With that set, I immediately turned and headed toward the training fields. "I am going to inform Pandimala and Tesarus of this development. If you could, inform the rest of my family and my officers."

"I will see it done," Sire agreed.

As I moved through the streets of Tocania, I couldn't help but smile. Sire hadn't asked how I was so sure where they were. Pandimala and Tesarus, while they got around, seemed to go off a schedule. And at this time, they were most likely to be at the training grounds.

They were Decepticons, after all.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

My vents were cycling as I dodged Tesarus's strikes. While we were in no means going all out, the two of us had set up a simple training routine during our recoveries. And that included working on some issues that Tesarus had noticed during our fight. Little movements that could have caused me to lose if he had reacted to them fast enough. So, I was working on that. One of those issues was being more precise with my pede movements and how they distributed their weight. While it wasn't a fatal flaw, I had allowed my pedes to get ahead of me more than once in that fight. I needed to correct that, and Tesarus was more than willing to help.

It still surprised me that our meetings after the fight had gone so well. Of course, from what Tesarus said, I had Physis to thank for that. The medic had not held back, as I had hoped, since I had given him clearance to answer Tesarus and informed the DJD member of the restrictions I was under during that fight. So, when we had met in the metal, the big lug had thanked me for such a memorable fight.

"Keep your pedes under you, Pandimala." Tesarus's vocals cut through my thoughts, and I had to quickly readjust my chassis to correct my form. "There you go. We don't know how much longer we are going to be here, and we need you in the best condition you can be to serve Lord Megatron."

He was right, of course. But there was one issue I wanted to tease him about while saying so. "You're right, but we could have been out of here a lot earlier if you hadn't flown in on that hunk of junk you did." The poor ship he flew in on had been so damaged that it would have cost more to fix it than it would have to buy a new ship. So, we agreed to have it scrapped in exchange for some credits and energon. Now, we were just waiting for my ship to get built. Thankfully, I would have Tesarus around to fly it.

My teasing earned me a vent from the mech. "It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if I didn't have to deal with so many idiots." His visors then focused on me. "Many of those I have you to thank for riling up."

What could I say? I had that special touch with the Quintessons and those who served under them. "It's a gift." I then jumped away from his reach as he tried to restrain me. "Don't try to hide that you had fun messing with those slaggers on the way."

His smirk told me everything before he spoke a single word. "While the delays were frustrating, it was good to see them so hesitant to do anything, especially the Autobots. Something else I have to thank you for."

While I knew he meant the words in good faith, they still caused a jolt of pain to go through my spark. While there were some minor benefits that those failed peace talks brought, I knew that the rewards we would have earned from that peace would put any benefit to shame. We could have had a golden age that would rival any in history. With both Autobots and Decepticons working together, we could have built something amazing.

Instead, it had all come crashing down.

"Femme,"

It looked like Tesarus was about to ask me something. If I had to guess, it was going to be about my pause there. However, before he could ask it, the doors to the training arena opened, and Lord Dawnbreaker walked in, a determined look on his faceplate. Could it be? "Lord Dawnbreaker, what can we do for you?"

The way that the mech smiled made me even more sure about what he was about to say. "I've just received word from Lord Trizan, Pandimala. Your ship is ready and waiting at the docks."

Joy about split me down the middle as I beamed at Lord Dawnbreaker. "Really?"

"Really." Lord Dawnbreaker confirmed. "I asked if we could arrive in two cycles, to give you time to pack and me time to prepare. Given everything that has happened, it would be wise if I sent you off properly." Tesarus made a noise at that, which caused Lord Dawnbreaker to twitch his wings slightly.

In turn, I jabbed the mech's side.

"Thank you, Lord Dawnbreaker. We will go and pack now. I'll let you know when we have finished." As the two of us walked away, I shot a side glare at the mech. "Don't fragging start slag. We are literally leaving in a few cycles, and I know my luck. We are going to get through this as nicely and politely as we can, or I swear I will find somebot else to pilot my ship and leave your aft behind. I do not want to end up a shish kabob…again."

…

"You're no fun femme."

"I'm serious, Tesarus."

…

"What is a shish kabob?"

Tesarus's 1st P.O.V.

I could tell that the femme was nervous. While she had made our conversation light when we returned to our quarters, I could tell that she was anxious about her departure. Given her strength, that shouldn't be an issue. To take me on in a full fight, with restrictions against her no less, was a feat that very few could claim.

That reminded me, I needed to talk to her once we left.

However, from what little I knew about the femme, she had at least a little reason to be nervous.

Pandimala had only ended up on this planet in the first place because she had been shot down. Not from a ship, no, that would have been too simple for this femme. No, instead, she had space flight capabilities, and she was physically shot down in her alt mode. The strength she must have exhibited to not only survive but to transform to reduce her damage must have been stunning to witness. Then, every time she seemed to be on the mend, more trouble found the femme, and Pandimala ended up having to stay longer and longer. So, having us this close to our departure, the femme's nervousness made sense.

That didn't mean I wouldn't taunt the femme as much as I could.

"We're so close, femme. Can practically taste the exhaust from whatever ship they built up for you."

Her resulting glare was very appreciated. "I was not kidding earlier, Tesarus, I will leave your aft here."

"Aw, but then how would that bot get home, since we are going to be taking your personal ship?"

There was silence for a few nanos. "I'll figure something out. I am a strategist after all." That was a bit of information that had surprised me. Given her strength, I was fully expecting her to be a warrior, serving our Lord on the front lines in the conflicts she was involved in. Instead, she drops her strategist job on me during our fourth solar meeting. Of course, that explained her actions with Vestium Major, after all she had gone through. She was thinking five steps ahead while I had only been seeing the smaller picture. "Worst case scenario, I have that bot teach me how to fly my ship well enough to make it home before we part ways at a popular spaceport. There are quite a few between here and Pyrovar, and I'm sure there would be enough time for me to learn."

Case in point.

So, I let out a vent. "Fine. I'll behave. For now."

While I expected her to be upset at that, I was surprised when she let out a relieved vent. "That's all I can ask for."

"Really?"

She gave me a pointed look at that. "Really. I'm not sure what could happen in the next nanos. Events may happen where I need you to act out. Wouldn't be very smart of me to limit you when the future is unknown to all of us, now would it?" It was amazing how quickly she could focus on what she needed to, despite the calm atmosphere around us. While we weren't expecting trouble, it was always best to be prepared for it. From her response, Pandimala was more than ready.

When a looming shadow touched over us, I had to take a second look. That was her ship? Glancing at the femme, who seemed oblivious, I could only move my gaze between the two. I knew that she had done a great service for the Galactic Alliance, and Lord Dawnbreaker in particular, but how the frag did that constitute her receiving one of those?

"Pandimala, I am glad you could join us." I finally focused ahead, as did the femme, as Lord Dawnbreaker addressed her. Standing in front of us were Lord Dawnbreaker, his family, his officers, which included Physis, their goddess, Lord Trizan, one of his guards, the medic Ashtar, and a giant mech I recognized as Maximus Forge. The shipwright easily stood four times Pandimala's height, creating an imposing figure.

"We are glad to be here, Lord Dawnbreaker, Lord Trizan, Iussa." Since those three were the highest-ranked beings here, it made sense for her to address them in her greeting. And, since she said 'we', she was also taking care of my greeting. Probably for the best. However, I did give a nod toward them all. When she started to glance around, I grew confused. What the frag was she doing? "Not to sound impatient or ungrateful, but where is my ship at?"

She didn't…I let out a loud laugh as the bots in front of us stared at the femme in shock. For such a bright femme, she seemed to gloss over the obvious at times. That was especially when it seemed to involve her. Poor Pandimala was glancing between all of us with a heavily confused look on her faceplate, which only caused me to laugh harder. She really couldn't see the obvious. After a few nanos, and none of the others had moved to show her, I placed my servo on her helm before forcing her to look up at the ship behind the group. "That is your ship." I could practically feel the energon drain from Pandimala as she finally realized what I saw when we were walking up.

Her ship was the giant warship sitting in plain sight.

Easily the size of the Nemesis, her ship was made of a hybrid of materials that I couldn't quite identify, though it looked sturdy. The matte black coating covering the ship was designed for easier space flight, as reflective surfaces were more visible. I would say that the ship was going to be easily camouflaged for a ship of its gargantuan size, if it wasn't for the bioluminescent green glow that was slightly pulsing from different cross sections of the hull and ship. With the many angled protrusions, which seemed sturdy enough to break through loose debris that my get in its way, and the many weapon ports that were able to be seen, this ship was made to be imposing. It even had two support towers toward the center back of the ship, which I could see held multiple arrays and weapons, along with observation decks.

This was an amazing ship.

"Wh…" Pandimala still seemed to be trying to form a thought about this unexpected turn of events. "Why? It's…it's too much. I was only expecting a personal ship. This is…" As she finally got some words out, Pandimala still seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say.

I instinctively tensed as Maximus Forge took a few steps forward. "I am Maximus Forge, owner and founder of Locktheon." He then held out his servo to her.

The femme almost seemed to be on autopilot as she took one of his digits in her servo. "Pandimala. Decepticon." She then paused for a nano. "Why?"

The mech smiled down at Pandimala before he answered her. "Why such a large ship?" She gave a nod to answer his question. "When Empress Ladania first contacted me about creating a ship that five of the Galactic Alliance leaders were gifting to a bot, giving you a medium-sized craft had been my plan. However, that changed when I received a visit from my creation, Westfall, and his family. He and his family were here during the attack that the mercenaries of Luxor helped launch on the city, releasing all of those creatures. My grand-creation, Excarn, was at the lake here, celebrating a party for one of his friends, Fellstriek of Hyneria. When the attack started, the beaches there were some of the first to be attacked. In the chaos, the young ones were separated from their guardians for a nano and were almost attacked by some dimorxians. From the memory I saw, a large femme had stepped in and defended those young ones, including my grand-creation, until their guardians could take back over."

Recognition appeared in Pandimala's optics at that. "I remember that. The dimorxians had tried to overrun the beach at first. I'm glad that your grand creation stayed safe."

"As am I," Maximus Forge agreed. "Once I did some research and realized that you were the same femme that the Alliance was gifting the ship to, I knew that I had to make it a gift of gratitude from me as well. You had no idea who he was, given the rumor I heard that you didn't even realize how important Locktheon is," I stared at the femme in shock at that. She didn't know Locktheon before this? Pandimala, of course, looked slightly embarrassed at her lack of information. "And yet you stepped in to save those young ones. This was the least I could do in gratitude." He then held up his servo as it looked like the femme was about to speak. "And I won't hear any word about not accepting it. If it makes you feel any better, I had already completed the shell of this ship before I made the decision. The client backed out of the order, unable to make the payments, and so I had a base structure to customize as I saw fit."

After a few clicks of Pandimala looking indecisive, she let out a vent. "Then I am grateful. Thank you," She then glanced around at all those present. "All of you. This means so much to me. I will not forget your kindness." Her optics then looked up toward the ship in a studying way. "Will it always have that green glow?"

The shipwright shook his helm. "No. I decided to use your ship to test out a new feature I have been wanting to try. The lights reflect the status of the ship, as you control it. While there are a number of colors, I think you should discover most of them on your own. However, the ones I believe you should know immediately are as follows. Green lights will glow, as you see, when the ship is parked. When the ship is in flight, a violet glow will emanate from it. Blue will glow when you send out a distress signal of any kind. Finally, for now, a red will glow when you enter its battle state. As I said before, there are other colors as well, but I will let you find those out on your own."

Pandimala's optics looked amazed as she seemed to absorb his answer. "I can't wait to try them!" She then seemed to realize her outburst and awkwardly straightened herself. "Thank you. Is there anything else I should know?"

At this point, Lord Dawnbreaker stepped forward. "Not that you need them, but I have taken the liberty of placing a supply of Vestian disguise chips on board. Knowing your penchant with fate, I hope that they will serve you well."

Well, he wasn't wrong with that. And those Vestain disguises would definitely help mitigate that. Each disguise would read the user's basic scans and create a secondary appearance, vocals, and even optic color using their programming. Highly effective in infiltration situations or when needing to hide. There were a few of the DJD's past targets that had extended their futile running by donning such disguises. However, it was difficult to obtain them for those not of Vestium Major origin, so once those broke, we would find the foolish bot. Being given a supply of them by the leader of Vestium Major was a very wise gift for his send-off.

"Empress Ladania has also provided a store of weapons that should be satisfactory to your needs," Lord Trizan added before he smirked. "I have also procured you a few crates of those energon sweets you enjoyed from Ducelias." While I wasn't sure why that was important to the femme, her optics lit up for a nano at his statement.

"Thank you, Lord Trizan. I'll make sure to savor them for as long as I can."

At this time, Iussa stepped forward, standing before Pandimala, before she let out a vent. "As much chaos as you caused, I will miss you. Just…try not to cause too much trouble on your trip home."

Pandimala smiled up at the goddess. "Just for you," The goddess looked relieved for a nano. "I'll cause as much trouble as I can, all in your designation, of course."

And just like that, Iussa's faceplate fell. I couldn't stop the few chuckles that came out as Iussa shook her helm. "Please don't."

Well, it seemed as if we had moved on to the farewells already, even though there was still one major step we had to take care of with the ship. "Pandimala," The heir of Vestium Major looked hesitant before he spoke. "Thank you. I didn't deserve the chance you gave me, but I'll always be grateful for it."

Pandimala nodded toward the mech. "You're welcome, Firebrand. And remember," He seemed to focus more on the femme. "Don't forget to relax. Being all uptight doesn't help for long, if at all."

Firebrand gave Pandimala a nod at that before Lightbeam spoke up. "If you're in our sector again, make sure to swing by and hang out with us. And don't worry," The femme then smiled at Pandimala. "I'll always make sure to scan the energon."

During one of our conversations about Pandimala's time here, she mentioned a situation she helped prevent that involved the femme creation and some poisoned energon. "Then you should survive long enough for us to meet again. Take care, Lightbeam."

My chassis flinched slightly when two blurs moved from their side and latched onto Pandimala. It took my processor a nano to realize that those blurs were Lord Dawnbreaker's two middle creations: Seabreaker and Grinchain. From what I had heard and observed, Pandimala had grown especially close to the two of them.

"I'm going to miss you, Pandimala," Seabreaker spoke up as he leaned his helm against her.

Grinchain nodded as he did the same. "I will too. You've been the greatest friend I could ever have."

It was amusing how soft Pandimala's look became as they spoke to her. However, I felt it would be wise not to comment on that until we left. While I didn't mind teasing the femme, I didn't want to gamble that she wouldn't leave me as she had threatened. For now, I had pushed my luck far enough.

"I have enjoyed getting to know both of you so much." She placed a servo on each of their helms before she continued. "Remember that you have each other and, despite your differences, you are stronger together. Nobot can break you without your permission, no matter how difficult it gets."

After a few nanos, she moved her servos, and both mechs backed up, small smiles on their faceplates, before they returned to the gathered group. Glancing at the bots still standing there, I silently hoped that they all didn't want to say goodbye. We wanted to leave as soon as possible, and if we had to sit through all those goodbyes, it would take a cycle or two. That was especially with Lord Dawnbreaker's Chief Scientific Officer, Romparan, who was infamous throughout the galaxies for his especially long greetings and farewells. From what I heard, the mech once spent four cycles saying goodbye to a small town that had hosted him on his travels.

Pandimala might offline the mech if he did, and then we would be delayed even longer trying to explain said murder of a high-ranking official.

According to Pandimala, there were only two more bots who should have goodbyes to give to the femme. The first of those stepped forward as that thought entered my processor. "Pandimala, I never thought I would meet a triple-changer as capable as you are." Sandstorm started with a smile. "And there has never been one I have been more proud to call my friend." He then held out a servo to her. "Call me if you ever need me."

She took his servo in hers. "I will, Sandstorm. And thank you for training me. I learned a lot from you." The triple-changer trainer nodded toward Pandimala before he stepped back from her.

Physis didn't waste a nano in marching up to the femme, a stern look on his faceplate. While the mech had worked on me since my arrival, I was told that, prior to that, the mech had been Pandimala's sole medic. This ought to be interesting. "Don't expect any of that sweet sob nonsense from me, femme."

"No, of course not, doc."

Physis shot Pandimala a glare at that. "Think you're funny, aren't you. Well, please remember that, unless your Lord directly orders the removal of those blocks, I am the only one who can do so." He then crossed his arms and half turned from her. After a few tense nanos, he glanced back at her. "So, make sure I get the chance to see you again, Pandimala."

"I'll try as hard as I can, Physis," Pandimala responded before a wicked smirk took over her faceplate. "Can't promise how many pieces I'll be in, though."

I couldn't stop the sharp laugh that came out when the medic immediately shot her a glare before he returned to the others. Though I didn't miss the soft look briefly crossed his faceplate. Frag. If the femme had any sort of bad intentions planned for all of these bots, they wouldn't stand a chance. She could probably convince them to eat energon out of her servo. Literally. If I hadn't tested her already, I would be worried about her loyalty to our Lord in the face of this scene.

Instead, I saw her gathering support for our Lord, all the while remaining loyal to him and him alone.

Nervousness crept into my lines when it looked like Romparan was about to step forward. "Yes, now there is one more thing you must do before you leave." Maximus Forge spoke up. Thank Lord Megatron that the shipwright spoke up. All bots turned to him as he continued to address Pandimala. "For this ship to be fully registered to you, a name must be given to it. What shall you name your vessel, Pandimala, Decepticon?"

A far-off look came to Pandimala's optics as the mech asked her that. This was an important step for anybot who would take ownership of a vessel. The designation she would give would be one that bots would utter as it towered over them, whether they be ally or enemy. It needed to reflect the femme, so none would question whose ship this was. While I didn't know the femme well, I knew that she was intelligent enough to create a designation that would resonate in the processors and minds that heard it.

All of us gathered seemed to freeze as Pandimala walked toward the ship with slow, deliberate steps. She had decided. All intakes seemed to freeze as Pandimala placed a servo against the landing gear, effectively connecting her to the ship. After a few more clicks of silence, the femme finally spoke. "The vastness of space, its destructive, overarching power, all-encompassing, to the triumph that it shall bring my Lord wherever he orders it to go. This ship shall rise above the pandemonium of battle and the malice of my enemies to serve my Lord wherever it may go. All shall know the Darkstar Ascendant."

A chill ran through my chassis, though I didn't allow it to show, as the name seemed to naturally flow from the femme's glossa. And, with the femme's strength and loyalty, I was sure that the Darkstar Ascendant would soon join the designations of the Peaceful Tyranny and the Nemesis in the processors and minds of all who thought of the great ships of the Decepticons.

"Then Pandimala, Tesarus," Lord Dawnbreaker spoke, a determined look in his optics. "May safety and joy greet you wherever the Darkstar Ascendant may take you. May your pedes never tire, and your sparks always burn bright. May your paths lead you to your best futures." The leader then smiled. "Safe travels and a speedy arrival to Pyrovar to you both, Pandimala and Tesarus. Know that you will always find welcome here."

Hot slag, that was a slagging formal farewell. Never thought I would be receiving one of those.

Thankfully, Pandimala spoke up for both of us. "May your reigns be long and peaceful, Lord Dawnbreaker, Lord Trizan, and may the fortune of the Allspark shine down on your planets for generations to come." While that was not a usual response to a farewell, it seemed more appropriate in this situation. Much better than the 'okay' I planned to say instead. Once she finished speaking, Pandimala turned and started to make her way up the ramp.

Following close behind her, it didn't take us long to reach the bridge. While I couldn't be sure, I had to assume that either Lord Dawnbreaker or even Maximus Forge himself had sent her a private message with the schematics of the Darkstar Ascendant. With an urgency I felt was necessary, I moved to the controls and, after raising the ramp and landing gear, started the ship's engines. A pulse of excitement rushed through me as the ship awakened. Yes, this was it.

Without any more delay, I raised the ship from the ground and started to leave Vestium Major. This was one more step closer to our final objective.

Pyrovar.

Lord Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

It felt almost bittersweet, watching the newly designated Darkstar Ascendant as it disappeared toward the depths of space. The femme was finally on the next part of her journey to Pyrovar, which she had wanted since her arrival here so long ago. It had been easy to see the joy on her faceplate as she had walked onto the ship. As her ally and friend, I was truly happy for her.

However, in that same thought, I would miss her. She brought joy to Vestium Major and to me, that I was unaware I was even missing. My life had become such a disaster before her arrival, between my splintering family and the trouble we had been facing with Wern, that I had felt out of my depth. Pandimala brought a calm and logical processor that I found myself relying on while she was here.

I would move forward, though. Despite the void that the femme would leave on my planet, I knew she would never forgive me if I allowed all of her work to go to waste. "Does that femme always have such a presence?" Maximus Forge questioned as the ship finally disappeared from view.

"Pretty much," Seabreaker jumped in with a shrug. "We all just got used to it. It'll be weird without her here, that's for sure."

"While I will miss Pandimala, I'm glad that Tesarus has gone with her." Firebrand looked nervous as he said that, and I couldn't blame him. The DJD member, while not retaliating against Seabreaker and Firebrand for their servo in Pandimala being shot down, had made subtle jabs that had both mechs jumping at almost everything.

A laugh came from Lightbeam, and something told me she was about to make this worse. "Yeah, because you don't have to jump at your own shadow anymore."

That caused Firebrand to glare at his sister. Thankfully, my bondmate stepped right in. "Enough." That seemed to get all four to settle.

"For now, we should be grateful for Pandimala's successful launch." Iussa glanced at all of us. "I'm sure we will all meet the femme again."

"Given how easily she was able to befriend Tesarus, I'm sure that she will be welcomed home with open arms, once she arrives, that is." Lord Trizan smirked at that. Of course, those of us who knew the femme could read between the lines of what he said. That was if she arrived. Pandimala was a true trouble magnet, and I was sure that she would have even more tales of her travels from here to Pyrovar."

At that point, I noticed a thoughtful look on Maximus Forge's faceplate. "With how well the femme makes connections, I am surprised that none of her fellow Decepticons have claimed her. Even though I just met her, and if I was a few million stellars younger, I would try my own chance with the femme."

That was something that was strange. Given their mental maturities, Pandimala was eligible to be courted by all of the Decepticons that had been present on Earth. Many of those bots, from what I knew, would see Pandimala as a suitable bot to, at the very least, court. That would have to be a mystery for another solar.

For now, we needed to show Maximus Forge to his quarters while he stayed here, and I needed to meet with my officers to discuss their thoughts on our first steps in approaching the Decepticons. Tatsuran was due to return from the domain of the Qs and would have to be informed of everything that he had missed. He was going to have my plating with all of the information he had to catch up on.

"She is being courted."

My spark froze in my chestplate as those words hit my audios. My helm slowly turned to Grinchain, as did the others here, as those words left his vocals. Did he say what I thought he just said?

"What was that?" Fear was easy to hear in Iussa's vocals. That fear was definitely echoing my own concerns at the click. We had to have heard him wrong…right? Please?

From the confused look on his faceplate, I was afraid that wasn't the case. "Pandimala is being courted."

Slag, that's what I thought he said.

"How do you know that, Grinchain?" I was surprised that Seabreaker was the one to ask that. I suppose Pandimala had only shared this existence-altering information with Grinchain.

Grinchain was moving his gaze between all of us, still with that confused look on his faceplate. "Pandimala mentioned it during our first guide solar. When Dinar, Peckil, and Phila tried to cause trouble, they called Pandimala a pleasure bot, and Dinar asked her if, and I quote, 'Is that what gets you going? Limp and nerdy?'"

"How did you get so lucky to have such an understanding Decepticon land on your planet?" Lord Trizan asked. "When Acid Storm was on Airlandia, somebot made the mistake of calling him 'A glitch with a processor full of rust and the flight capabilities of a tyrexian.' Needless to say, it took over a stellar for him to get put back together, let alone fly."

I shook my helm at his question. "I honestly don't think I'll ever know." While I wanted to continue that conversation, there was another, more important one happening. "Grinchain, what happened after that?"

My youngest mech creation looked nervous now as he spoke. "Instead of getting angry, Pandimala turned it around on him. She said, 'If that is your autobiography, then I think I'll pass. I'm already being courted, but I don't stand by and let lowlife barnacles try and latch on to my friends.' She said it so casually in that sentence that it never clicked with me what she said until Maximus Forge said what he said."

This was not good. Not good in the slightest. What sort of bot had the ball bearings to court a femme like Pandimala? Given what we knew of her past, there was a good chance it would be a Decepticon that we had heard about. Now, more than ever, we needed to prepare our apology. Not only could we be dealing with Lord Megatron's wrath, but we had this mysterious bot who was courting her to deal with. They would want their own retribution for what had happened to Pandimala here.

Glancing at Grinchain, I frowned. It would have been nice to know about her bondmate before she left. I'd have to interview my creations to make sure there wasn't any other existence-altering information that Pandimala may have told them that they forgot to mention.

Chapter Text

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

It was more than I could have ever wished for. Even though it had been cycles since Tesarus and I had left Vestium Major, I couldn't stop being amazed at the Darkstar Ascendant. Once we had settled on a flight path, he had set the ship on autopilot before we started to explore the ship. The sheer size of the...my ship meant that even after all of this time, we hadn't seen all of it. And I wanted to know it. I needed to know it if I was to use this ship to help my Lord. While it still felt like too much, I wouldn't complain about it. This was something I could use to help my Lord with whatever the future held.

"You know, femme, I'm still surprised that you were just given this." Tesarus had been more sociable than I ever imagined him being. Honestly, at this point, I was seeing him as a close friend. "I know the Nemesis cost Lord Megatron a pretty credit to get built, and that wasn't even by Locktheon. Most beings would give their chassis to be given even a personal ship. If I didn't get to witness your bad luck personally, I'd think you were the luckiest being in existence."

Shaking my helm, I led us away from one of the rec rooms we had found and toward where the map said one of the med bays was. We needed to make sure there were enough supplies if we needed them. While both Tesarus and I had proved that we could take a hit, accidents still happened, and I would rather be safe than sorry. "I'm glad you know better." I didn't need any jinxes with my luck. We were finally on our way to Pyrovar, and I did not want to mess this up. And it would be my luck that would cause any problems.

Getting on the bad side of the god of order, even just a corrupted version of him, came with consequences.

"I will feel better once we arrive on Devola." Tesarus seemed to be studying the hallways as we moved through them. If I had to guess, he was trying to commit the layout to memory. It was always funny, back before, when less-informed fans said that Tesarus and Helex were simple brutes. They wouldn't have survived being members of the DJD if that were true. While I had never believed that sentiment, being here with the mech continued to prove the point.

And that included his thoughts about Devola. "Same here," I agreed. "Once we hit Devola, it will be a straight shot to Pyrovar." Even as I said the name of the Decpeticon's new capital world, a thrill traveled up my backplates. I had been delayed for so long, and the time was finally approaching.

"And there is the creepy smile you get whenever Pyrovar is mentioned." I shot the mech a glare as we arrived at the med bay. "A part of me thinks you are a little too excited to get home."

"I am," I agreed with the mech. While we started to catalog our different areas, I continued to answer him. "With everything that has happened, all of the struggles that I have gone through, I'm ready to finally get home."

The air around us seemed to grow uneasy. After a nano, I looked at Tesarus and felt confused at the look on his faceplate. What the frag was that about? "There is something that has been bothering me. About the peace talks."

My spark froze as those words left his vocals. The peace talks…what could have been. "What about them?" My vocals felt like they were straining against themselves, barely above a whisper. Something was wrong. Why did I freeze up when he brought it up? Why did it bother me so much? It shouldn't…it shouldn't still stop me in my tracks. It had been so many solars already. I should have moved on by now. I did move on!

When a servo suddenly grabbed my shoulder, I jolted out of my thoughts, a burst of panic going through my lines. Glancing up, my spark rate started to settle as I realized it was Tesarus. "Come on."

Before I could say anything, the mech lifted me into the air and started to walk out of the med bay. "Wait, what about the cataloging? We aren't the most careful bots in existence."

"It can wait. We are going to talk." He had a look on his faceplate that caused me to tense before the next words left his vocals. "That medbay isn't the place to talk about this."

Again! Again, my chassis froze at those words. What the frag? I had this under control before. On Vestium Major…I didn't tense like this. I told them everything about the peace talks—everything. But I didn't freeze. Did I feel regret? Yes. But this? What was this? My chestplate felt like it was caving in on itself—just the thought of the talks…about what happened.

"Put me down, I can walk," My voice sounded miles away, though it came out of my own vocals. With each step Tesarus took, I continued to feel like the world was slowly crushing my chestplate in. Why? Why was I reacting like this?

"I don't think you can," Tesarus's vocals sounded muted, almost like he was talking underwater. But I could understand him.

The hardness in his vocals caused me to stop resisting as he moved through the new hallways. The low lights lighting our path seemed to narrow in as we approached the doors to the bridge. Wait…the bridge? When did we get here? It should have taken longer. "I'm okay." But was I? Frag, I couldn't even register what was going on around me. "I'm okay." It was at this click that I realized that my vents were cycling rapidly. When did they even kick on?

"Stop saying you are okay when you're not!" I flinched violently when Tesarus's vocals cut through, sharply though not loudly. When he wrapped his arm around my chassis as he sat, I immediately started to push away. No. I was okay. I was okay. "You offlined!"

Silence hung in the air around us, even my vents stopped cycling, as his words echoed through my audios. Pain shot through my processor as those words continued to echo in my helm. But it hadn't bothered me. It hadn't! I had gotten over the fact that those three had…

A chill ran through my chassis and stayed as memories of that cold flashed through my processor. It was cold. Too cold. Why was everything so cold? That blade, that cursed blade, had sheared its way past my armor, slicing against my spark chamber. The warmth that my spark gave was replaced by cold. I had been alone.

I was alone.

Pressure across my chestplate pulled me out of my thoughts. Glancing down at the source of the pressure, I saw Tesarus's arm there. Holding me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the mech sitting there, waiting. "We all saw the talks. Given your timeline and the slag I read about happening on Vestium Major, you never had a click to process what happened. I've never come back from the offline, but the DJD has placed many bots in that position, pulling them back right after their sparks left their chassis. Denying them the relief of offlining for just a little longer. When I asked you about the talks, the look I saw in their optics is the same one that I saw in yours. Let me know if I'm wrong."

While I wanted to tell him he was wrong already, deep down I knew he was right. I knew that something was wrong, and I needed to talk about it before I returned to Pyrovar. "You're not." My vocals felt as if they were being rubbed with a cheese grater as I spoke. My spark still felt constricted, cold, but there was also a little warmth from Tesarus now.

"You were offlined just to be ripped back to the online by Unicron himself." I had told Tesarus most of what happened with the talks, in a general sense. He had shown his loyalty to Lord Megatron more often than I could hope. If anybot could be trusted with what I knew, it was him, along with the rest of the DJD. "Despite our best efforts on those traitors, nothing the DJD could do could match what that must have done to you. Once you were online, you were controlled by that god and forced to fight against the very tentative armistice that our Lord allowed the Autobots to have."

While I wasn't sure why, his words seemed to help the tension I was feeling lessen. I didn't feel so restricted…so cold. "I stopped him."

"You did." There was a quiet awe in Tesarus's vocals that I didn't expect to hear. "Despite not knowing if you would come out of the ordeal online, you followed Lord Megatron's orders and removed Unicron from your chassis. Fighting against a god is no small feat. The DJD has had our fair run-ins with the beings, and those were lower-class gods. You fought against a pinnacle god controlling your chassis, and you won."

While I wasn't sure when I started, I realized I just had a fragging panic attack, and Tesarus had talked me down from it. With everything that had been going on, this was the first time I truly had time to process everything. No expectations, no need to focus on every word that left my vocals. That pressure must have been building longer than I thought. "Thank you, Tesarus." The two of us then sat there, comfortable silence between us as my spark-rate settled and I came back to my senses. As those senses came back, I realized that the mech had been about to ask a question about the talks. "What did you want to know about the talks anyway?" When the panic didn't return, I felt myself relax. At least for now, the panic was over.

"Why were you left alone?"

Tesarus's 1st P.O.V.

The femme's chassis tensed as soon as I asked the question. While it was a risk to ask her this, given the panic she had just gotten out of, it had bothered me. While she was powerful now, as I had experienced, it was easy to see from the footage we all witnessed that she hadn't always been so. The few nanos we were able to witness her trying to defend herself showed that she was inexperienced with direct combat. From what I experienced during our fight, she had learned from her mistakes to make sure she was never in that situation again.

But I found it odd that she was in that situation in the first place.

Most Decepticon operations, before the armistice, maybe had three, at most ten, officer-class Decepticons. There were even some that had only one officer-class bot ensuring that the Decepticon cause pushed forward. Not only was Lord Megatron on the Earth front, but there were twenty-one officer-class Decepticons on Earth outside of Pandimala and Lord Megatron—more than enough to make sure that each ship had ample guards during the talks. Yet, despite that overwhelming number, the forces on Earth agreed to have this femme, who at the time seemed unprepared for such an assault, remain the only Decepticon on that ship. Not even drone-class bots were left there with her.

I wanted to know why that was.

After a few more clicks of silence, Pandimala finally spoke. "Because I made sure of it."

Were my audios malfunctioning? She couldn't have just said what I thought she said…right? "Run that by me again because I swore you just said that you fragging did that on purpose."

"I did." Pandimala's vocals wavered slightly as she spoke. Why the frag did this femme do something so stupid when she had more support than any other operation the Decepticons were running at the time? "I told you, on Vestium Major, about my past." Yes, she was brought here from another dimension by Primus, though she hadn't gotten into that much. Maybe I would ask her about it later. "What I didn't tell you was the reason I was picked. Well, one of the reasons, at least." Pandimala then moved off my lap to sit on the ground, facing me, before she spoke again. "The dimension I came from, all of this was fiction. What I live now was something that was a fantasy many used to escape the realities around them. With time, I used it for the same purpose. The media I watched and read, I knew it better than what was sane. When I was brought here, I was told which iteration I was being brought into, and with that came the burden of knowledge of how events were supposed to be."

"Wouldn't your presence have changed the course of that history?" This wasn't making sense. If she were a new factor in time, then she shouldn't have expected events to move as they were supposed to.

Anger pulsed around Pandimala, though it didn't seem pointed toward me, as a hard look came to her faceplate. "You are right, and at first, I did. I made changes, and I was seeing that I could help forge a new future, one where we didn't lose so many sparks. The future I saw was one I worked to try to create. However, the iteration of Primus that pulled me to this dimension was furious with me. He didn't appreciate the changes that I was making, didn't see the good that could come from it. So, he purposefully worked to return our fates to what he thought they should be. As we continued to work toward the peace that the Decepticons were working so hard to fulfill, Paul worked to stop me. The time leading up to the talks showed me that he was succeeding, even if slightly. I saw that he was using whatever means he could to force his reality onto us."

While her explanation was starting to make sense, it still didn't explain why she thought that the peace talks would be the point where their clash would come to a helm. "How could you be so certain that the peace talks would be where he would make such a desperate push?"

Pandimala's servo reached across her chassis, gripping her shoulder. Whatever memories I had just forced, she needed that grip to keep herself grounded. I had seen similar reactions hundreds of times before. "Because the timing was right. In my previous dimension, the show I watched that matched this dimension had big turning points. We referred to them as season finales, climactic moments that would vault the 'story' to the next big plot. During my time here, I had seen major events line up with the timing of those previous 'finales'. Here, the first of those brought attacks against me that eventually caused my transformation to this," She had told me about her status as a newspark. While it was hard for me to believe at first, her actions and memories constantly testified to that truth. "As well as a major clash in a mine. The second turning point saw the first major attack against me, and one that almost took me out. It also brought another clash between the Decepticons and Autobots, which could have ended very badly for both sides."

When a pained look flashed across the femme's faceplate, it was easy to see when the next turning point happened. "I'm assuming the peace talks were lining up with the third turning point."

She nodded and let out a shaky vent. "I saw it coming. Not only that, though; I saw evidence of Paul's destabilization. From what I was able to discover through my contacts, some in the Autobot base, Paul was detabilizing in a bad way. While they didn't know, I could tell that he was panicking over his loss of control. I was fighting against him, making changes against what he wanted. Knowing that and having seen the other evidence, I knew that these peace talks, which he had been vehemently against, would cause him to snap. He would be so desperate to ensure that events that should have followed the third finale came to pass. Though he would have wanted the original Decepticon to offline, at that point, he wouldn't care which Decepticon offlined. However, he would make sure one would."

"Who was supposed to offline?" I was starting to piece together the femme's motivations and thoughts. However, she said that Paul would have wanted whoever this Decepticon was in her knowledge that offlined to offline.

"Lord Megatron." My spark skipped a beat as our Lord's designation left her vocals. "Lord Megatron was the one to offline in that reality. The one who suffered the fate I have here." The femme had been forcing herself to move forward, making sure she was the target, so our Lord would not be targeted. "And I'm sure Paul would have found some way to cause a fight at the peace talks to target Lord Megatron if I hadn't made myself such a perfect target."

From how she was sounding, the scum of a god had some vendetta against Lord Megatron. "Why do you think he would have tried to target Lord Megatron?"

A look of frustration flashed in Pandimala's optics. "Because he blamed Lord Megatron for my turning away from him. He never saw his own flaws and found our Lord as the perfect target for his outlet. Offlining Lord Megatron during the talks would have been the perfect ending for him. I couldn't let that happen." A ghost of a smile slipped onto Pandimala's faceplate for a nano. "Thankfully, I was trained by some of the greatest processors the Decepticons have ever had, including Lord Megatron. I was able to use logic to argue that having a few of us away from the group at the farm, who, thanks to the conditions of the talks, were to be tracked, was the best strategy. Since we were keeping the knowledge of having two ships away from the Autobots, we needed them to believe we had minimal staffing on the Harbinger, which they believed was the Nemesis."

I was starting to see more of her plan now. "And most beings know three bots can take care of a stationary ship as large as the Nemesis." Even though I thought it was impossible, my opinion of the femme in front of me continued to grow the more I knew about her. "You placed yourself on the Harbinger knowing you would most likely offline."

She nodded slowly, though her optics had a far-off look to them. "Once the existence of the hidden ship came into play, I knew that he would realize we would have only placed one bot on the exposed ship, to protect the hidden ship more, because we would think that the hidden ship would be targeted."

"You let them offline you." That seemed to be the most logical conclusion I could draw.

However, I was surprised when the femme shook her helm. "No. While I knew offlining was a possibility, I didn't want to. I fought for my spark. But, realizing how deeply Paul was involved distracted me enough for…" Pandimala's vents started to cycle faster as her vocals took on a distressed tone. "For that mech's blade to…" Her words tapered off, and it was easy to see that her offlining still took a heavy toll on her processor. "To offline me." Pandimala's servo hovered above her chestplate for a few nanos before she let out a vent. "I also knew that the bot who offlined at that point would be forced to revive and be used as Unicron's puppet." The hiss in Pandimala's vocals at the end told me just how much that situation, despite how poorly others would have reacted, still affected the femme. "The vitriol he forced me to speak sickened me, though at the time I did not have the strength to stop it completely. Then he forced me to raise my blade against Lord Megatron."

This was good. I hadn't been playing before. With how chaotic the femme's existence was, this was the first time she seemed able to fully process what happened to her out loud. So, while her story was starting to jump around, I allowed it. Pandimala needed to speak through this. It would help her heal.

Kaon, after some bad solars, would react similarly about his time during Sentinel Prime's reign. With the ability he was created with, he was forced through more than anybot could imagine. All of us in the DJD learned how to help him through his flashbacks, as rare as they were these solars. Over time, we were able to help him talk through what happened, and now, I couldn't remember the last time he let those memories affect him.

"You didn't allow him to succeed, though." Reminding her of the positives in that experience, as difficult as it was for me to imagine what that had been like, would help her stay grounded.

Pandimala nodded, and I was surprised to see a soft smile on her faceplate. "Once Lord Megatron ordered me to rid my chassis of Unicron's control, everything else became instinctual. Despite the toll it took on me, I couldn't allow myself to disappoint my Lord." Silence then fell between the two of us for a few more clicks. Pandimala, during that time, seemed to be thinking over something. "Thank you, 'Saw."

Wow, a nickname. Given that she had a deep history of our existences, I wasn't surprised that she had access to my original designation. Of course, it could be from my DJD title, but she was smarter than that. Others wouldn't know about it, or wouldn't dare utter the connection. So, I would allow her to use that nickname for me. But, only her.

Of course, I couldn't leave her out. "Anytime, 'Mals."

"'Mals?" She seemed surprised at the nickname for a few nanos before she smiled widely. "I like it. 'Mals it is."

While I was glad she approved the nickname, I wanted to make something clear. "Just so we are clear, you are the only one who gets to use that nickname for me. You earned it."

A laugh escaped from the femme. "You didn't make it easy, though. That was a great fight. Really showed me how far I've come." Compared to where she was during the peace talks, then I would agree with that statement.

Now that she brought up the fight, though, that reminded me that I needed to give her one. "Speaking of that fight, there is something you earned." Reaching into my subspace, I pulled out a round gold coin. On it was an image of myself. "Do you know what this is?"

Pandimala, in return, stared at the coin blankly for a few nanos. Of course, I didn't expect her to know what it was. While most of the officer-class bots on Earth had one, the direct contact with the war on that planet would have made it necessary to forgo the tradition this coin represented. Not only did it symbolize strength, but it could get a decepticon out of a tight situation if they had a higher-ranking coin than another bot.

"Is that a challenge coin?"

Well, maybe she did know. Did a bot have to use one on Earth? Or did she already earn one, and I didn't realize it? "How do you know what this is?" If she already had one, I was curious about who she got it from. The bots on Earth were not ones to be trifled with, and while I outranked most of them, there were a select few who did outrank my coin.

The femme looked relieved that she was right before she spoke. "Back on Earth, we had a similar tradition in our military. The higher the rank of the coin, the better. I've never seen one, but I had a friend who knew someone who got one from a general. Before I left, he had never had to pay for a drink."

Well, that would make the explanation easier. "In general, these work the same. There seem to be a few differences, though. For one, rank isn't the only determiner of coin power. The strength of the bot whose image is on the coin also plays a factor. Also, these are used for a lot more than a free drink, though you could use them for that. If a bot challenges you to a fight, you can decline it and still keep your honor if you have a coin that is higher than the bot that challenged you, or you can force a bot into a challenge if your coin is higher. Sometimes, if bots feel slighted but can't challenge a bot to a normal fight due to the situation around them,"

"Like recovering from fighting a razorhowler?" Pandimala smirked as she interrupted me with that.

Fragger.

"Yes, like that." How would I have known that when I met her? "When that happens, you can call a coin challenge in place of a fight. There are even some bots who will do both a coin challenge and a physical fight." I then held out the coin to her. "Since you defeated me in combat, I'm giving this to you. You more than earned it."

Pandimala stared at the coin for a few nanos, optics wide, before she reached out and took said coin. "Thank you." Once she placed the coin in her subspace, she focused back on me. "Is there anything else I should know about these coins? Who outranks your coin?"

Well, since she asked. "There are two types of coins: silver and gold. If you have a silver coin, you didn't defeat the bot in question, but they were impressed enough with the fight, or you impressed them in some other way, to earn it. I personally will never give a silver out. I think it defeats the entire purpose of the medals."

"But if there are bots who can't fight well, who have earned their spot among the Decepticons in other ways, then those medals from stronger Decepticons could help them out of tight spots." I never thought of silver coins in that way before. While I believed that a decepticon needed to be strong, there were some exceptions to that rule—medics, on one servo. While Nickle wasn't very powerful on her own, she knew that she had the rest of the DJD to back her up if some bot gave her trouble. The silver coins could help with that. "If I'm ever strong enough to earn my own coin, there are a few bots I would give a silver coin to." Really? The femme seemed so certain in a decepticon pulling their own weight. I didn't think she would already have bots who she would give a silver coin to, if she had them.

To her other question, though. "As to who outranks my coin, you will need to know. There aren't many, but they can pack a punch. There is Lord Megatron's coin, of course. Then, there is Tarn, Shockwave, Soundwave, Overlord, Starscream, though it is his rank as second that gives him that spot more than anything, Deathsaurus, Thunderwing, and Straxus. Also, if you put the coins into a projector, it will create a three-dimensional image of the bot on the coin. Dreamcatcher, who currently makes the coins, thought it would be a fun addition to make. While I don't get the draw of it, the femme does good work."

A sense of dread suddenly came over my systems as Pandimala's optics got a glint of something dangerous behind them. What the frag? "Tell me everything about Dreamcatcher."

This was going to be a long solar.

Unknown P.O.V.

"Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Disgust welled up in my tanks as the idiot in front of me pleaded in a puddle of his own energon. This waste of scrap had promised us that, with his help, we could dismantle the Galactic Alliance from within! Instead, my current masters were scrounging about with the little sway they currently had, and it was all this mech's fault!

Another cry ripped out of the mech's vocals as my pedes found his wings. Despite his relatively large size, he was just as pathetic as every other triple-changer I knew. Thought that they were the best because of their dual alt modes. It felt satisfying to remind him that he was simply a pest beneath my pedes.

However, it would be best not to let my pleasure be known at this time. Instead, I would focus my wrath on this fool! "You guaranteed our victory! Claimed that our masters would just have to act as they normally do, and you would hand them the Alliance!" Each word was emphasized with a blow from my pede against the fool beneath me. I had backed him, and yet he allowed that femme to make fools of our masters and me! "Instead, our masters are berating me! Demanding to know how we allowed such a monstrous femme to overtake their plans, and drive their grand attack into the ground!"

"Ah!" I recoiled in disgust at the mech as he let out that disgusting sound. He couldn't even accept his punishment without getting on my last intake of patience. What a pathetic excuse of a mechano being.

Grinding my pede against the mech's wings, I made sure that the mech would understand his mistake. "Listen closely, for you won't get another chance to fix your mistake. Our masters are being gracious enough to give you one final chance to prove your worth to them. Give them the opening they need to get a hold of the Alliance as you promised them."

As I continued to grind my pede against his wing, I allowed my thruster to warm, hopefully conveying my seriousness in the matter to the fool. "I…I won't fail! I won't!"

The mech's discomfort was evident, and I allowed myself a nano to revel in it before I finally removed my pede. "Then leave. Return to your planet with whatever excuse you need to keep your sire's suspicions away from us." The disgust I was feeling earlier grew even further as the mech dragged himself out of the room.

Despicable.

"You have quite the way with others." I resisted the urge to roll my optics as Astroscope's vocals sounded in the air. He was one to talk. Took pleasure in simply watching the pain unfold. If he weren't so potent in his abilities, I wouldn't bother myself with him.

As it stood, however, he was an invaluable resource. "It comes from stellars among the higher-caste during the golden age, using my rank to root out any undesirables before they could become a problem." Yes, there were quite a few bots still among the cosmos that became what they were thanks to my influence in their sorry excuses for existences. One in particular, I was very proud of. Such a cautious femme turned into that monster. I couldn't have even guessed how that would have went.

Speaking of taking care of problems, "How is that project I asked you to work on?"

I suppressed the shiver his smile tried to force as the mech responded, "Mostly complete. Just a few kinks to work out of the formula to keep it undetectable." Astroscope glanced in the direction that the miserable failure had just left. "Do you not think your little puppet will pull himself out of the mess he made?"

"No." I had interacted with that femme before, and I knew that the mech had no chance of leaving her sight. "While I am loath to admit it, the femme he interacted with is much smarter than he gave her credit for, and she will be suspicious of him. We will give him one more chance to cause some dissension within the Galactic Alliance, and then we will silence him before he becomes a problem." The mech looked at me expectantly, and I allowed myself a planning smirk. "So, you being prepared with your special drink by that time would be more than appreciated."

As Astroscope laughed at that, malicious glee echoing in his vocals, I allowed myself a victorious smile. Yes, everything was moving on the right track. That femme would not divert my plans. Not again. I now had the resources and support to make that femme sorry she ever crossed me.

Wheeljack's 1st P.O.V.

It wasn't right.

Walking down the streets of Cybertron over a hundred solars since Megatron returned life to our planet, I shouldn't feel like this. I shouldn't feel like somebot was going to jump out and attack me, as I would have been like back before the war started. The Autobots, despite everything that we were guilty of, were given the best chance to start a new cycle of life for Cybertron. One that did not include the fear and nervousness that had been present before the war.

Yet, here we were.

In the solars since Pandimala had left the planet, more and more refugees had returned to Cybertron. While most of those were autobots, there were a few neutrals who had returned as well. However, we were already seeing the tensions between most autobots and those neutrals. It was sickening. The distrust that was already running rampant through the streets was suffocating, and we were expecting many more to make their way to the planet.

I couldn't take it anymore.

And that was why I was on my way to meet with one of the few bots that I trusted implicitly, and who knew all that I did about what truly happened on Earth. After everything that happened, Zarron had become a steadfast friend. More than Bulk was recently, that's for sure. As much as I cared for the big lug, he still followed after Prime's shadow for approval. I tried to talk to him, show him that there were problems that the autobots were having on Cybertron. However, the mech put blinders over his optics when it came to anything involving Optimus.

"You look troubled," I glanced up and only then realized that I had arrived at the coordinates Zarron asked to meet at. "This about the state of Cybertron?"

There was no point hiding it from the mech. "Yeah. Bots are blinded by Optimus's status and the formation of that new 'Council'. While we knew that Cybertron would struggle because of everything that happened on Earth, I didn't think it would go this downhill so quickly."

The two-wheeler nodded and moved to look across Iacon. After he let out a vent, the mech leaned his helm against the railing he was standing behind. "I was hoping against it as well. With all of the luck that we have been given, taking into account all of the damage we as a faction have caused, we all hoped that Cybertron's new government would use the gift that we were given. Instead, we are getting this." My optics followed Zarron's servo as he motioned toward the city below us. "I remember the lower-caste city-states before the war. The fog of fear and mistrust was heavy, much like it is now. The only difference is that our faction's own actions at those peace talks are what started this cycle, instead of the millions of stellars of deeply ingrained mistrust that we suffered through before." My chassis tensed as Zarron's servos clenched. "I won't stay here and allow myself to get dragged back into that sort of existence."

From how he was talking, the mech had come to a decision. The other solar, those of us who were in the know of Pandimala's goals on Earth, had a meeting to discuss our views on what was going on here planetside. There were a lot of problems, and most of us were not enthusiastic. Ratchet was critical from the beginning, and admitted that he would most likely be removed from Cybertron before the stellar was up. Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen were holding onto hope that they could help sway the views of other bots to stop the inevitable. Blaster, while not so hopeful, was already committed to staying on Cybertron with his symbiots to help those who might need it in the future.

But Balm, Zarron, and me? We were on the fence. Well, more accurately, Zarron was. Balm and I had talked and decided to wait and see what the two-wheeler would do. From how he was speaking now, that answer was obvious. "You ready to leave?"

It took a nano, but soon Zarron nodded, a hard look on his faceplate. "While it pains me to do so after everything we fought for, it would be foolish to stay. Cybertron isn't making any sort of effort to build itself up. From what I have heard from the few traders who have arrived on Cybertron, the Decepticons are already starting to form smaller alliances, building support for their new civilization. Our leaders seem stuck on worshiping that moron Paul."

A shiver went down my backplates at the way he spoke Paul's designation…not that I could blame him, of course. By the time we were ready to question Paul about his past actions, more bots had been arriving, and the god was placed off-limits to that sort of scrutiny. It was infuriating. From everything that we had heard and witnessed, Paul had played a large hand in the problems that the war on Earth saw…for the fate that Pandimala ended up having to endure and fight.

On the bad solars, my recharge echoed with the screams that tore from her chassis as she had fought Unicron. She had fought for peace between our factions, with everything she had and more. Discovering that Paul played a role in that suffering made me angry. Honestly, if Pandimala had asked me to accompany her when she left Cybertron, I wouldn't have hesitated.

Now, after everything that Paul caused…everything that he prevented, we had come to this.

"Your boss will want an in-bot report about all the slag that has happened." Given that Hinge and his group were top secret from almost every Autobot as well as the Decepticons, it was still dangerous to say more than I did about him.

A vent escaped Zarron as he seemed to hang his helm a little at that. "Then there is that, too. It's going to be a pain in the aft having to explain everything that happened on Earth…as unbelievable as it is. Slag, that is going to be a pain. We are going to have a rough time of it."

Yeah, it was going to be a pain. There were solars I still couldn't believe everything…and I had been there. "Yeah, we are going to have a tough time of it." Zarron's helm suddenly snapped up, his focus on me. From the surprised look on his faceplate…did he really think…? "Did you really think I was going to be staying on this planet without you and the doc femme?"

After a few nanos, Zarron shook his helm. "No, but I still worried you might. Given the connections that you have on planet, I knew it wasn't going to be an easy choice. It's a relief that you are coming with me."

While I would miss hanging with the rest of the Wreckers, it wasn't enough to justify staying in this mess. "They'll survive, and the smart ones will either help Blaster, Ultra Magnus, and Smokescreen, or eventually leave as well. I'll see them all again." I then looked at the two-wheeler and smirked. "But you? If I let you out of my sight, you'll end up offline before you get where you are going. How many times did you almost offline on Earth alone?"

As the two of us made our way back to our quarters, Zarron shot a glare up at me. "You aren't as funny as you think."

"But you didn't answer the question."

…

"Frag you."

Yep, despite how much it would hurt to leave the Wreckers again, I knew I was making the right choice.